A second chance to grow up
by Ginger1280
Summary: A sequel to a new life and a new world just beginning. Lelouch and Suzaku go through the second stage of redemption in their new home which means being a child and growing up all over again hopefully getting it right this time around.rated T just in case
1. Lelouch's not so bright morning

Disclaimer: I don't own code geass no matter how much I wish I did.

Ginger: Okay! For those of you that didn't know, this is a sequel to 'A new world and a new life just beginning.' This is a little while after Lelouch had found himself in a new home, and now he continues his redemption getting to grow up for a second time, hoping he can grow up right this time around. But this story also has Suzaku's POV because he's now going through the same thing. Hope you guys like it!

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It had been nearly a month since Lelouch had woken up and discovered his new family at the Berkenbridge home.

His grandfather Quatre Midnightstar had forged his adoption papers and had sent them through the system with help from several government friends officially making him Lelouch Alistair Berkenbridge (He had chosen his own middle name for his new father).

His father Leon had since returned to his job meaning Lelouch spent plenty of time with the rest of the family at Midnightstar sanctuary.

He finally felt at home and very comfortable with where he was and who he had become.

Lelouch was now a very happy teen, the weight of the world was no longer on his shoulders and he had his family. He was a loving brother, and happy son, and a cheerful friend.

Of course strange things happened in his home, aside from the scary German soldier from WWII, the two half dead souls that kept him company, and the dead glider pilot that played with his younger siblings, he had his closet, in which he discovered a friendly wooly mammoth that he had affectionately named Snow, his older brother Jake had given him a tank with several young cuttlefish, there was of course, Aldair, the talking anteater with teeth that tried to hog the bed, and then there was his Uncle Roderick who was a complete nut job that was a part of Lelouch's social therapy.

But all in all it was home. Until something even stranger happened one day.

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It was around eight a.m. which was when Lelouch usually woke up as the sun slowly climbed up the opposite side of the house, reflecting off the ocean and into his window.

As always all that was visible on the bed was a large lump under the black and white striped comforter, the Anteater asleep at the foot of the bed, and the hand that reached out from underneath the blanket to hit the snooze button on the alarm clock as several raven spikes peeked out from the top of the blanket.

But today, Lelouch didn't want to get up. For some reason his body was unusually sore and he was extremely groggy. So he curled up under his blanket even more and tried to drift off again knowing that Leon was eventually going to come look for him.

Sure enough……

"Lelouch?" came Leon's familiar British accent as he knocked on the door.

Lelouch just continued to hide under his blanket.

"Lelouch, come on, it's time to get up." said Leon walking into the room.

Lelouch just let out a squeaky yawn as he stretched under his blanket.

"Come on Lelouch, get up." said Leon pulling back the blanket.

"But daddy! I don't wanna!" Lelouch sighed looking up. But he paused when he saw Leon looking at him strangely.

It was then that he realized that his view of the world around him seemed to have changed………. and Leon had suddenly gotten much larger.

"Daddy………." he said slowly. Then he stopped and thought for a second. 'Wait, why am I calling him daddy instead of dad?' he thought to himself. "Why are you so big?"

"Because you're really small Lelouch. You're small enough that you make Kit look like a giant." said Leon oddly.

Lelouch starred for a moment, then he looked at his hands which were tiny. He quickly jumped out of bed, nearly falling from a misjudge of the distance and ran past Leon into the bathroom where he found he was almost shorter than the counter, only the top of his forehead reaching the edge of the cool marble. He reached up an attempted to climb but he just wasn't strong enough.

"I think we're going to have to get you a step stool if we can't reverse this." said Leon walking in and gently picking him up.

Lelouch finally got a good look at himself in the mirror and what he saw was nothing short of unusual and awkward.

In the mirror, in Leon's arms, was a pale, skinny little boy with spiky black hair, his violet eyes filled with curiosity. He was swimming in the pajama shirt the he had worn to bed, the sleeves reaching past his elbows.

Lelouch gently poked his face, trying to make sure it was really him. Once he was sure that it wasn't a joke, he did the only thing he could think of.

He opened his mouth letting out a high pitched childish scream.

"Hang on now!" said Leon covering his mouth to make him stop. "There's no reason to scream."

"No reason?! Daddy! I look like I'm three!" Lelouch shrieked.

"I know, but we need to figure this out rationally. This isn't the first time this has happened in the family I can assure you. We just need to talk to Mr. Malachai about it alright?" Leon said, setting him down.

"And here I thought this family couldn't get any weirder!" he huffed, a childish lisp to his speech as he crossed his arms against his chest.

"I'll go call dad and maybe he can stop by on his way to work, I don't think he works till this afternoon."

"Good thing you're off today Leon." said Aldair hopping off the bed and walking over to Lelouch. "You're quite the scrawny little thing aren't you? Short too."

"Hey! That's not nice! At least I don't say you're a monster!" Lelouch said in retaliation.

"I'm going to go call dad." Leon sighed, then he left the room.

"What's happening to me Aldair?" Lelouch asked. "This isn't normal!"

"Like anything else in this family is?" Aldair said amused. "You're talking to an angelic creation gone wrong and one of your best friends is a wooly mammoth in your closet."

Lelouch just sighed and thought for a moment before reaching up and opening his closet door where he saw snow laying underneath a tree.

"Hi Snow!" he called waving.

The mammoth let out a trumpet before reaching out and pulling him over.

"Snow, it's cold." he muttered, shivering as his bare feet touched the icy ground.

She just wrapped her trunk underneath and around him, as he leaned against her.

"What on earth is goin' on here?" Lelouch muttered, trying to think as Aldair joined them, laying beside Snow's trunk.

"It's usually a part of redemption." Aldair said. "I know Quatre went through something similar, but he only reverted back to a fifteen year old, not a three year old, and then he grew back normal, a year counting as a year. Sometimes, a year of growth can occur within a week or a month depending on a case."

"A year's worth of growing in a week? Ouchies! That sounds painful." he muttered childishly.

"I'm sure it is." Aldair agreed.

Lelouch just let out a small whimper as he curled up against Snow, letting himself doze off as he wondered what was bound to happen next in his new life.

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Ginger: Okay guys chapter one is up! I hope you like this one as much as the first one!


	2. Suzaku's crazy start

Disclaimer: I don't own Code geass obviously.

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Suzaku had lived in Midnightstar Sanctuary for a little over a month as he began to feel as comfortable as ever.

Unlike back in Britannia he had been easily accepted and warmly welcomed into the family, along with several familiar faces from home.

He even had Miss Cecile who stopped by every morning just to say hello to her father, and wake him up for breakfast. She had always acted motherly towards him, now she was becoming more and more like a mother every day.

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Just like every other morning Suzaku slowly got up, trying to get his head out from underneath Jurri's chin, checking to make sure that she didn't drool in his hair over night. Then he dragged himself out of bed and into his bathroom.

But as he reached for the light switch he paused. He couldn't seem to reach it.

"Where's the light switch?" he muttered with a yawn. Then he turned around and realized he could barely see above the counter. He was only able to see the edge of the sink and the bottom of the faucet. "Jurri! Jurri help!" he called.

The wolf quickly came running into the room, just to stop when they realized that they were both the same height.

"Jurri, help me onto the counter." said Suzaku, trying to stay calm.

So with her help, Suzaku finally managed to climb up and turn on the light just to find a curious, green-eyed, brown haired toddler starring at his reflection.

Just then there was a knock on his bedroom door.

"Suzaku? Suzaku time to come down for breakfast!" came Cecile's kind voice.

"Uh ohhhh." he muttered trying to climb down safely.

"Suzaku?"

Suzaku paused halfway off the counter as Cecile walked in the door.

"Umm…….. Hi Miss Cecile." he said in his squeaky childish voice.

Cecile starred for a moment. "Suzaku? Is that you?"

"Well I guess it is." Suzaku said, jumping down. "I mean, who else would I be?"

Cecile walked over and kneeled down in front of him. "I can't believe that's you." she said, gently running a hand through his hair.

"I can't believe it's me either." he admitted.

"You're a pretty cute little guy." she said smiling.

"That's not funny Miss. Cecile." he said stubbornly.

"Really? I thought it was."

"I don't think this is normal…….." he muttered in a bit of a sing songy voice.

"But I still think you're adorable." said Cecile matching it.

"I'm eighteen years old, I better not be adorable."

"Yes but you look like you're three."

"So? I'm still eighteen."

"In here you are." said Cecile gently tapping his head. "But out here you're not." she said, gently tickling his side, making him giggle.

"Cut it out Miss. Cecile! That's not fair!"

"I think it is." she said pulling him into a hug.

"Hey! No! Wait!" he cried trying to get free. "Jurri help!"

But Jurri just sat and watched as she wagged her tail, her head tilted to the side as her tongue hung out of her mouth.

"Traitor." Suzaku mumbled as Cecile cuddled with him.

"Oh smile Suzaku. I'm sure it could be worse." she said cheerfully.

"Worse? How could it be worse?!"

"I don't know, but I'm sure it could." she said. "But maybe we should go talk to Mr. Malachai and see what he knows about it."

"Fine." he huffed. But then he turned bright red as Cecile stood up and took his hand.

"Well then, let's go. I'm hungry."

"Have you figured out how to not burn scrambled eggs yet?" Suzaku asked.

"Of course. I just had to get a few tips and reminders from dad."

"Right……." he said slowly and doubtfully.

"I'll prove it some time."

"Fine then." he shrugged. "But I want to see if Mr. Malachai knows what's going on first."

"Alright then, let's go talk to him."

So the two of them headed downstairs together wondering what kind of answer they were going to get from Malachai or whether or not he even wanted to show himself today.

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Ginger: Okay! Chapter 2 is up. I hope you guys like it. I can just imagine Suzaku being such an adorable little guy.


	3. Malachai, Mortacai, and redemption

Disclaimer: I don't own code geass and I've run out of snappy comments.

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Within the hour Lelouch was sitting at the table with Leon waiting for Malachai and Quatre to show up.

"Aldair said that I might take years to grow back." Lelouch sighed as he to see

"I highly doubt you've got that type of redemption. I know dad was just given something more of a second chance with his. That's why he was with Grandma Kallie." Leon said, glancing outside.

In the couple of weeks she had stayed there Sahara had become part of the family and Lelouch, Kit, and Mercy all loved her like a mother, which was why she was currently outside playing with the two children on the swing set.

"I wanna go play." Lelouch muttered. "But I'd rather wait for Mr. Malachai. I want to go back to normal."

"It could be worse I suppose. At least you can still talk normal." Leon shrugged.

"But I sound weird!" Lelouch said stubbornly in protest.

"Well there's not much I can do about that." Leon sighed as the door bell rang.

Lelouch hopped off his chair and followed Leon to the front door where he got quite an unexpected surprise.

Standing there with Quatre was Cecile and holding her hand was a very tiny……

"Suzaku?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"Oh no! Not you too!" Suzaku sighed.

"Did this happen this morning?" Lelouch asked him.

"Yeah. I woke up and I couldn't reach the light switch in my bathroom." Suzaku admitted. "Then Jurri helped me climb on the counter so I could see in the mirror."

Lelouch giggled a little. "Daddy picked me up and I started screaming." he said with a smile.

"I almost did."

"Well first let's see how long this is going to last for the two of you." Quatre said as they all walked into the dining room.

Suddenly Malachai appeared in his black uniform, but this time he had very large, black feathered wings that made the two boys jump behind Leon when they shook and ruffled.

"Am I really that scary?" Malachai sighed.

"Yes." said Lelouch stubbornly.

"Not really. Scary's when I do this." He said kneeling down before him. "Boo!" he yelled, making a scary face as he stretched out his wings a bit.

Lelouch starred before suddenly, no matter how hard he tried not to, he burst into tears crying as he clutched Leon's pant leg tightly.

"Great job Malachai." Quatre muttered sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on kid! I'm not that scary trust me!" Malachai said trying to get him to stop. "Ouch!"

Suzaku gave him an angry glare. "That was mean Mr. Malachai!" he said, after giving him a nice wallop on the head.

"Come now Lelouch, you're a big kid, you don't need to cry." said Leon picking him up.

"I know!" he admitted trying to wipe away the tears, "But I can't get it to stop!"

HE suddenly let out a silly little squeak as Cecile poked his side. Then she began tickling him making him giggle like crazy before he almost fell out of Leon's arms.

"Careful there." Leon said setting him down.

"I feel much better now." Lelouch sighed with a tiny smile as Suzaku giggled a little at him.

"So how do we know what's going to happen Malachai?" Quatre asked.

"Well I have to find their paper work." said Malachai.

They watched as he shook his hand a little, but when nothing happened, he tried again before looking frustrated.

"Alright! Where the hell's my damn clip board?!" he growled.

Lelouch and Suzaku just glanced at each other, shaking their head's a little.

After a few more attempts he sighed. "I didn't want to summon the stupid book." he muttered walking over to the table. "Now how did that go again? Oh Yeah! Reverto ut mihi meus libri animus!"

After a moment nothing happened and everyone starred.

"Hey! Are you listening?" Malachai snapped at the sky. "Reverto ut mihi meus libri animus!"

Suddenly a monstrous book fell out of the sky and landed dangerously close to crushing Malachai's hand with a loud crunch coming from the wooden table.

"What are you trying to kill me?" Malachai growled at the book.

"Well it serves you right!" the book snapped back it's pages splitting open and a huge red ribbon acting as a tongue. "You haven't summoned me in nearly thirty years!"

"That's because I stopped taking souls nearly thirty years ago! Doesn't the word retirement mean anything to you?!"

"Well that doesn't mean you can't say hello and have a pleasant conversation once in a while."

"Oh shut up Mortacai." Malachai sighed.

"Fine then I'm leaving."

"Not a chance!" said Malachai pouncing on the book and trying to pry it open. "Open up!"

"No!" said the book sticking out the ribbon.

Malachai grabbed it and tugged. "Who's the master here?" he said darkly.

"You are." the book mumbled.

"Thank you. Now, please open up." said Malachai letting go.

"Only if you promise to summon me a little more."

"Fine, I promise I'll summon you more often so we can talk. Now please open."

"To what?"

"Mmm…… that's a good question. At least we have names." Malachai muttered.

"Names? Really? Since when? For who?"

"A couple of kids."

"Why?"

"Mortacai please……" Malachai groaned.

Lelouch and Suzaku just watched in curiosity as Malachai bickered with the gigantic book.

"What is it?" Suzaku whispered in Lelouch's ear in curiosity.

"I think that must be……. The book of souls that Mr. Ashtor told me about." Lelouch whispered back in awe. "It really isn't all that big for seventy million souls."

"Behave Mortacai!" Malachai snapped. "Sheesh! Why couldn't I of gotten Taluken instead of you?"

"Because you're the unruly Angel so you get the unruly book." said Mortacai stubbornly. "Names please!"

"Fine. I'm looking for Lelouch Vi Britannia first." Malachai sighed, resting his head on the table in annoyance as Mortacai flipped pages.

"Found him!" he said proudly. "But he's not under any category."

"That's because he didn't die in WWII." said Malachai reading the page.

Lelouch felt curious so he climbed up on the chair beside him to look at the book.

There were two whole pages for him. His picture on the top left hand corner of the left page, his date of birth, of death, his parents, his sister, his life accomplishments, everything.

"Not exactly a spotless record." Mortacai muttered.

"Which is why he's serving redemption Mortacai." said Malachai as if it was obvious. "And you got off easy. Five months of redemption growing a year every two weeks.

Lelouch starred. "If I only grow a year every two weeks for five months that leaves me at……." he paused counting on his fingers. "Thirteen?"

"After that then you grow normal again."

"But why?"

"Don't complain. You could just die and go straight to hell for starting a war and indirect suicide."

Lelouch turned bright red and shut his mouth tight.

"You wouldn't give your uncle the satisfaction of claiming him." said Quatre with a raised brow.

"True, true."

"Uncle?" Suzaku asked curiously as he got up on another chair to look at the book.

"Lucifer Morningstar, the prince of lies himself." said Malachai.

"Lucifer? Isn't that another name for satin?" Cecile asked slowly.

"Very good Cecile." Malachai muttered.

"We're related to the devil?!" Lelouch screeched.

"Wow, that really would make you the demon emperor wouldn't it?" Suzaku chuckled.

"That's not funny Suzaku!" Lelouch protested.

"Anyway children……!" said Malachai interrupting them. "Now we get to see Suzaku's blemished record."

"I'm pretty sure I don't want to see it." Suzaku mumbled.

"Mortacai, find Suzaku Kururugi. You may have to search though because he never died."

"Then why would I have him?"

"Because he was rescued."

"Fine." Mortacai sighed.

After several minutes of pages flipping back and forth, Suzaku's picture appeared on the open page along with his record.

"It's not much better." Mortacai muttered.

"No shit Sherlock. That's why he was rescued, and that's why he's got the same redemption. Ten years worth of growing in five months. Have fun with that kiddies." said Malachai, flipping the book shut.

"Is Cameron in here?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"The entire Ashtor family is." said Malachai walking over to Quatre. "Three brothers, five sisters, mom and dad."

"How bad was Cameron's record?" Suzaku asked.

Mortacai flipped open to the pages with Cameron Ashtor's records.

"He looked happy enough." Lelouch admitted.

"He sure beat up Travis a lot." Suzaku muttered.

"Yeah well Travis did beat back." Malachai admitted.

"It say's he's only served half his redemption as a guardian." Said Lelouch.

"He was Grant's guardian with Travis for several years until Leon died and joined them. Now they're just waiting for Cameron to play nice and apologize. Travis has, but it doesn't get revoked until Cameron agrees to the truce."

"Not like that's really gonna happen anytime soon." Lelouch admitted remembering Cameron's hostile attitude.

"So how does this work?" Cecile asked as the boy's continued to look through Mortacai.

"Hey Mortacai, can we see Mr. Ashtor's page?" Lelouch asked.

Mortacai flipped through to show Leon Ashtor's record.

"Wow, he had a rough life." Suzaku whispered sadly.

"But he lived a lot longer." Lelouch pointed out. "Hey, is grandpa in here?"

"Of course he is." said Mortacai flipping more pages.

"Look, grandpa's picture." Lelouch said smiling.

The boy's giggled at Quatre's picture of him around mid twenties with his blonde hair in a military cut, in his infantry uniform.

"He looked kinda funny." Suzaku giggled.

"Gee thanks guys." said Quatre. But he had a good natured smile on his face as he chuckled at them making them laugh some more.

"So what now grandpa?" Lelouch asked.

"We let you grow and see what happens." Leon said with a shrug. "There's nothing else we can do really."

Lelouch and Suzaku just pouted a little, not quite sure they were ready for what was to come in the next five months.

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Ginger:Well we finally get to see a little more of Malachai like some people had asked in the last story. I figured everyone would find a scared little Lelouch a bit cute. Was I right guys? ;) Anyway, thanks for reading and staying with me! And just out of curiousity, I'd like to know what everyone thinks about Mortacai, Malachai's book of souls.


	4. The need to hug something warm and fuzzy

Disclaimer: I will never own code geass. If I did I wouldn't be working at sea world for $8.05 and hour now would I?

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It had been a long day and Lelouch was very unsure about how his life was going to go now that he was the size of a toddler.

"I can't believe Mr. Malachai made me cry earlier." he pouted stubbornly as he sat at his desk, watching his cuttlefish.

"Oh please, it's not like that's not normal for someone your…… size." Aldair chuckled from his spot on the bed.

"That's not funny Aldair." Lelouch sighed.

Aldair just let out a growling chuckle as he looked towards the window.

"Another wonderful storm just moved in Lelouch." he said.

"Noooooo!" Lelouch groaned. "That mean's that the scary German guy'll be out in the hall again!"

Aldair just smiled.

But Lelouch froze when he heard a hand on his doorknob.

"Lelouch, it's late and it's time for you to get to bed." said Mr. Ashtor walking into the room.

Lelouch let out a deep sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that Mr. Ashtor! I thought you were the scary guy!"

"I'm sorry Lelouch." Mr. Ashtor said as Lelouch climbed up into his bed.

"Do we even know who he is?" Lelouch sighed.

"All I know is I keep hearing 'Zerstorung den Sohn der Schatten des Todes,'" Mr. Ashtor admitted. "And I don't speak a damn bit of German."

"Destroy the son of the shadow of death? Now that's odd isn't it?" Aldair said curiously.

"You speak German?" Lelouch said starring.

"My name is German." Aldair pointed out. "I don't know. I just know I understand it. Do I have to have an answer for everything?"

"I guess not." Lelouch sighed with a yawn.

Mr. Ashtor smiled a little and pulled the blankets up to the boy's chin, tucking him in.

"That scary guy won't come in my room tonight will he Mr. Ashtor?" Lelouch asked.

"I promise I won't let him near your door Lelouch." Mr. Ashtor said reassuringly.

"Okay, cause I don't want him in my room. He's scary enough in the hallway."

"I promise. I'll be just outside your door if you need me, alright?"

"Okay." Lelouch said with a nod as Mr. Ashtor turned off the light. "Goodnight Mr. Ashtor.

"Goodnight Lelouch." he said, then he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Lelouch just curled up under his blankets and looked down at Aldair at the foot of the bed. Suddenly a different kind of feeling came over him. "Aldair?"

"Yes Lelouch?"

"Whatcha doin' down there?"

"Sleeping like I do every night."

"Don't you wanna come sleep up here?" he asked, patting the empty space beside him.

"Since when? And since when is there room?" Aldair murmured curiously.

"Since I'm the size of a little kid now. And…….. Cause I want something fuzzy to hug." he said quietly, turning red in embarrassment.

Aldair just got up and joined him, smiling as he rested his nose on Lelouch's chest.

"Is it normal to want to hug something warm and fuzzy Aldair? I've never felt that before." he whispered.

"Which means that you may of kept your intelligence, but you're now feeling a child's emotions. This is a good thing considering you never really got to feel them the first time around." Aldair said kindly.

"Oh….."

"Just enjoy it while you can Lelouch. It's not like everyone get's a second chance at their childhood. Even if it is only for a few months."

"Okay." Lelouch agreed. Then he wrapped his arms around Aldair's neck and curled up against him, eventually drifting off, ignoring the storm outside.

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Ginger: Okay short fluffy chapters, short yes, but you gotta love the fluff right?


	5. The little knight's kiss goodnight

Disclaimer: I will never own Code geass as much as I wish I did.

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Suzaku had to admit, he felt odd, yet comfortable with Cecile.

For some reason her and Quatre had decided to let him stay with her while he was growing and he wasn't too sure of the idea.

"Miss Cecile……." Suzaku muttered, holding on to the whale he hid underneath his jacket.

"Yes Suzaku?" she asked as she hung her coat by the door.

"Are you sure I should stay here?"

"It's fine." she said trying to take his coat.

"My coat." he said stubbornly pulling back.

"Since when are you so stubborn about a coat Suzaku?" she asked kindly.

"Just cause……."

"What are you hiding?" she asked accusingly with a smile and a raised brow.

"Nothing, I just don't want to let go of my jacket."

"Right……" she said slowly, then she started tickling him, making him laugh hard enough to drop his coat.

"Hey! No fair!" he protested as she picked up his jacket.

"What's this? You were hiding a little plushy?" she said with a chuckle as she picked up the little white whale.

"My Nanuq!" he said protectively as he snatched it back and hugged it. Then he paused. "I'm fighting over a stuffed animal. I'm really sad at this point." he sighed.

"If it makes you feel any better, I still have a little plush dog that my daddy gave me when I was four. His name is Gilbert. After my friend Gilbert."

"Gilbert? That's kind of mean to name it that, isn't it?"

"Why? Guilford's first name is Gilbert."

"Gilbert Guilford? That's terrible! Not as bad as poor Kit's name, but still."

"So who'd you name your little whale after?" she asked, kneeling in front of him. "Who's Nanuq?"

"The beluga whale that I interact with for my social therapy."

"Social therapy?"

"Yeah. Miss Sarah said I needed it to help reestablish my social skills so hopefully I can make friends easier and talk a little bit more. That's what she said anyway." he shrugged.

"So where'd this Nanuq come from?" she asked.

"Uncle Roddy got her for me. I don't know why. But he did."

"Well either way, it's getting late and it's time for you and little Nanuq here to go to bed."

Suzaku just let out a small grumble and a growl in protest before letting Cecile lead him off to bed.

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But nearly an hour and a half later, while Jurri peacefully slept beside him, he laid awake starring at the ceiling.

"Suzaku? What are you still doing up?" Cecile asked as she checked in on him.

"I can't sleep." he sighed.

"You can't sleep huh? Why not?" she said, walking over and sitting beside him.

"I don't know. I just can't for some reason." he shrugged.

"Hmmmm…….. Well I might have something to help you out. I'll be right back." she said, then she left the room.

After a few minutes she returned with something hidden in a box.

"Close your eyes Suzaku, it's a surprise." she said.

Suzaku just sighed and closed his eyes, then he opened one eye just a little to peek.

"No cheating silly." Cecile said.

Suzaku couldn't help but giggle a little as he covered his face with his hands, before moving a finger a little to peek again.

"Hey, no peeking!" she said with a laugh as he pulled the blanket over his head.

"Can I look now?" he asked.

"No, not yet."

"How about now?" he asked a few seconds later curious as to what the noises were that he was hearing.

"No."

"What about now?"

"What happened to that patient young man I knew?" Cecile asked kindly.

"He turned into an impatient little boy. Now?"

"Alright, now you can look."

Suzaku pulled the blanket off his head, unsure of what he was looking for. He looked at her in curiosity.

"Not me silly, look up."

Suzaku looked up above him to see what looked like a decent sized mobile, slowly spinning. But what was on it amazed him.

"Is that……… my Lancelot?" he asked in awe.

"Well different versions of it anyway." said Cecile with a shrug and a smile. "Those were all different models we made before we came up with the final design. Lloyd was going to throw them away. I took them home and I got bored one night, so this is what I came up with."

Suzaku just smiled as the little knightmare frames and glow in the dark stars slowly spun before him, making him sleepy as he watched his Lancelot in the very middle.

"I guess it's working." said Cecile smiling.

"Huh?" he muttered sleepily, unable to register what she had said.

"Goodnight Suzaku." she said, placing Nanuq in his arms and tucking him in.

"Night, night Miss Cecile." he yawned with a smile.

As he began to drift off he heard her say one last thing.

"Sleep tight, my little knight." she said softly, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek.

And with that, Suzaku fell into a deep peaceful sleep a small smile on his face.

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Ginger: Awwwwww! More fluff! Cute little Suzaku and Cecile? Can you guys just feel the cuddly love?


	6. Booboos, bandaids, and bubble wrap

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass...... or band-aids for that matter.

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It had been a little over two weeks since Lelouch and Suzaku had turned into little kids. They were both now around three feet tall at the four year old mark, but despite keeping their eighteen year old mentality, they were embracing their second chance, enjoying their childhood for once.

Lelouch loved playing with Kit and Mercy out in the back yard, or at the park. He let himself forget everything he had done the in his life first time around he decided to let himself grow again.

"Lelouch! Come play!" said Mercy running to the slide.

Lelouch just ran after her, a happy smile on his face as he let the child in him take hold.

He always enjoyed the time he spent with his brother and sister as they all took turns going down the slide, giggling cheerfully as Leon and Sahara watched them, smiling, from their spot on the porch.

Soon the three were chasing each other around the yard laughing.

But unfortunately Lelouch tripped sending him tumbling to the ground.

He sat up thinking nothing was wrong, but his eyes began to water anyway.

"You're okay Louie." said Kit smiling at him. "You're a big kid remember big brother?"

"I know." he sighed. "I don't wanna cry, it just happens."

"That's cause you only think like a big kid Lelouch." said Mercy smiling. "You're body is telling you that you're not."

Lelouch looked at his scraped up elbow and made an annoyed face, but his eyes continued to water.

Mercy just giggled and kissed his elbow next to the scrape.

"What was that?" Lelouch asked.

"I was kissin' it all better. Didn't you're mommy ever do that when you were little the first time?"

"Nope." he admitted as Sahara walked over to check up on them.

"Are you okay Lelouch?" she asked.

"I'm okay. It's just a scratch and Mercy kissed it all better." he said with a smile.

"Good job Mercy." said Sahara smiling. "You sure get scratched up a lot Lelouch. I mean…. this is you're fourth time this week falling and getting scratched up. We're you always this clumsy?"

"No!" he said stubbornly. "I'm just kinda……… off balance now."

"I guess that's a good explanation."

"Good thing we bought a new box of band-aids huh Miss Sahara?" asked Kit smiling.

"This is exactly why we bring it out here when Lelouch is playing." she said holding up a large adhesive bandage.

Lelouch just let her patch his scraped up elbow.

"I wonder if Suzaku's been falling as much." he muttered.

"Well I doubt it seeing as we just saw him yesterday and unlike you, he's not covered in band-aids." said Sahara.

Lelouch just huffed a little knowing she was right.

Suzaku had managed to keep himself injury free for the whole two weeks while Lelouch was now covered in colorful adhesive bandages.

He had them on his hands, arms, legs, especially his knees, he even had a couple on his face.

The day before Suzaku giggled at him saying that he looked like he had gotten into a fight with Arthur and lost.

"Maybe we should cover him in bubble wrap!" Kit giggled. "Then he can't get hurt anymore!"

"I'd rather be covered in band-aids." Lelouch sighed.

"Not like you have a choice anyway." said Sahara, gently poking him in the nose with a smile.

"I suppose not." he sighed as Leon walked over.

"Another neon orange band-aid to add to your collection I see." he said with a smile.

"Can I have a blue one next time?" he asked curiously, knowing he was eventually going to fall again. "I like the blue one's better."

"Yes Lelouch, next time you can have another blue band-aid. I think you're up to about eighteen now." said Sahara with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but that's because I trip and fall and I scratch up my arms and legs."

"Well hopefully you don't trip on your way in, because it's time for dinner." said Leon.

So Lelouch ran into the house with Mercy and Kit, each of whom just jumped over the step and into the house. He on the other hand, slipped and fell before scrambling up into the house, determined to not get another band-aid on him before the night was over.

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Ginger: Lelouch covered in neon colored band-aids? Who else giggles at this when they imagine it?


	7. Save the whale!

Disclaimer: I will never in a million years own code geass.

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Suzaku had come to love his new home with Cecile. He enjoyed sitting on the living room floor as they did puzzles or crafts together. The conversations about their days shared over dinner had become routine. They had taken to going out together on Friday nights after she got work from home and before he went to bed Suzaku always got a goodnight kiss.

With Cecile's help, Suzaku had become a very content, cuddly little boy who loved his surrogate mother very dearly.

It had been a very drizzly Saturday for them, so they had stayed inside, sitting at the kitchen table next to each other. Cecile teaching Suzaku how to make colorful wind spinners after dinner.

But while Cecile had perfect paper spirals, Suzaku had a pile of scrap paper.

"Is it really so simple that it's incredibly impossible?" Suzaku sighed, frustrated.

Cecile just laughed a little. "I think you're just making it more difficult than it really is Suzaku." she said kindly.

Suzaku just looked annoyed as he set down his things with a little angry huff.

"I'm just not the artsy crafty type." he sighed.

"Maybe we just haven't found the right thing for you. Maybe we should try something other than paper." she shrugged.

"Where'd you learn to do this stuff anyway?"

"Honestly? My dad taught me when I was little. He taught me almost everything I know. Even how to sew. Miss Sarah just taught me how to take care of someone when they get sick."

"Mr. Midnightstar sews?" Suzaku asked in curiosity.

"Yup. My little stuffed dog Gilbert, dad made him for me."

"Wow, multi-talented guy." Suzaku muttered. "And I can't even cut out a snowflake."

Cecile just smiled kindly.

Suzaku's attempt at a snowflake had ended up looking more like a pile of broken ice cubes instead of a geometrical wonder.

"Well I'm sure we can figure out something that you can do. Maybe part of it is you don't have the extremely fine motor skills left in you right now. It'll come back soon enough though." she said, gently ruffling his hair. "But for now it's getting late, why don't you go get Nanuq and get her ready for bed?"

"She's a stuffed animal. You can't get a stuffed animal ready for bed."

"Well you can get her from the laundry room." said Cecile with a smile.

Earlier in the day Jurri had drooled all over the white whale bad enough that Cecile had to toss it in the wash.

"Okay." Suzaku sighed, jumping out of his chair as Cecile began to clean up the paper mess. He then walked through the small apartment and into the laundry room where he found a fluffed up Nanuq in the dryer. He quickly got her out and hugged her before closing the dryer. Then he ran out into the hall.

But he didn't see the nail head sticking out of the doorframe, and it caught right on Nanuq's fin tearing a large gash along the seam.

Suzaku looked down at her, the white fluff from the inside protruding from the four inch long hole in the whale and he suddenly felt heart broken. The child in him quickly took over as his eyes began to cloud with tears and he sniffled from a runny nose as he slowly walked back into the kitchen trying to nurse the plushy's injury.

"Suzaku? What's wrong?" Cecile asked softly when she saw the tears in his eyes.

"Nanuq's hurt mommy." he sniffled, losing himself. "Can you help her?"

"Oh no," said Cecile taking the whale and inspecting the tear. "Well this is easy enough to fix. I can have Nanuq looking good as new in no time."

Suzaku followed Cecile into her bedroom where she pulled a big tool box out of her closet.

He just watched in curiosity as she took out a curved needle and a piece of very thin fishing line.

Then she began to easily sew up the gash.

After about five minutes…….

"There you go Suzaku, Nanuq's all better now." said Cecile kindly, handing the boy the whale.

Suzaku looked down at her fin to see no sign of the tear at all, not even a sign of Cecile's stitching. He quickly felt himself smile.

"Thanks Miss Cecile!" he said cheerfully as she put away her sewing box.

"You're very welcome Suzaku." she said, gently ruffling his hair and kissing his cheek, making him giggle. "Now come on, into bed with you."

"Okay!" he said. Then he ran into his room where he changed into his pajamas before climbing into bed, hugging his whale tightly.

"I see you're ready for bed." said Cecile walking in to tuck him into bed.

"Yup!"

Cecile just smiled and pulled the blankets up to his chin, as Jurri joined him.

"Then go to sleep Suzaku, I'll see you in the morning." she said giving him a little kiss goodnight.

Suzaku felt unusually lighthearted after having Nanuq's all fixed up, so, against the judgment he used to have as a young adult, he leaned up and kissed the tip of Cecile's nose.

"Goodnight Miss. Cecile." he said with a sleepy smile.

Cecile just chuckled as she tucked the blanket in around his neck. "Good night Suzaku. Sleep tight." she said, then she stood up, gently taping the mobile of little Lancelot models to make it spin slowly before walking out of the room, closing the door three quarters of the way to let a little bit of light in.

"Good night Jurri." Suzaku yawned, watching the little Lancelot's spin before him. Then he quickly drifted off to sleep.

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Ginger: This story seems to just keep turning into a bunch of fluffy bits besides Malachai and Mortacai doesn't it? But fluff can be good. Right guys?


	8. We're like twins, and Lloyd's in love?

Disclaimer: I don't own code geass. I know.

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It was close to the end of June, and Lelouch was becoming curious as he continued growing with his brother and sister.

He was now at age five, and still covered in neon colored adhesive bandages, but enjoying his time being a child.

Suzaku on the other hand was enjoying being an only child receiving all of Cecile's love and attention.

Of course because she focused on him so much, she noticed he had begun to squint at everything he tried to see at a distance so Suzaku ended up going to the eye doctor just to find that sitting in front of computer and knightmare frame monitors really did do some irreversible damage.

So while Lelouch was now covered in neon band-aids, Suzaku had an oversized pair of wire rimmed glasses, big enough that he could continue to wear them as he grew.

But they always enjoyed their time together………

Until Cecile took Lelouch and Suzaku to the store together.

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"Now I don't want the two of you to get lost okay?" Cecile had told them.

"Miss Cecile, we're eighteen, how are we gonna get lost?" Suzaku asked with a smile.

"You may be eighteen, but you only look five and that makes it easy enough to get lost."

"What are we here for anyway Miss. Cecile?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"Picking up some stuff that your dad asked me to get."

"Like what?"

"Like more band-aids." she said with a kind smile.

Suzaku just giggled and snickered while Lelouch blushed.

It was true through, he had officially gone through a two whole boxes of twenty four bandages in a month. Each day when one scrape healed, another one was formed in it's place.

"I think we're gonna have to use Kit's suggestion of wrapping you in bubble wrap." Suzaku laughed.

"But I don't wanna be wrapped in bubble wrap! Then I can't move!" he protested. "and I'd look stupid too."

"Like you don't now?"

"Be nice boys." Cecile chided.

"Maybe I'll have to get the clear ones." Lelouch mumbled stubbornly, making Suzaku laugh even harder.

Lelouch just scowled before suddenly…….

"Ouch! Owwies! Mommy! Lelouch tripped me!" Suzaku cried standing up after Lelouch stuck his foot out, tripping the little brown haired boy.

"Then don't laugh." Cecile said with a small shake of her head. "If you're really eighteen in that head of yours, then act it. Don't pick on him."

"Or I'll see to it that you're covered in neon pink band-aids." Lelouch said sticking his tongue out. "Maybe I'll find a way to stick Arthur in your bed in the middle of the night with Grandpa Ashtor's help."

"That would be just plain cruel."

"You're becoming more like your dad every day Lelouch." Cecile sighed with a smile.

"Which dad?"

"Leon. You're becoming like Leon."

"Is that bad?"

"Depends on if you've got the 'devil's temper' like him or not." said Suzaku.

"I don't know, keep it up and we'll find out!" Lelouch snapped.

"Alright, calm down or no ice cream after we're done." said Cecile sternly. "Will you two ever decide to make up and be friends and stay that way?"

"Yes." said Suzaku.

"Someday." said Lelouch.

"Eventually……"

"Maybe……"

"Before we actually die…."

"After we go to Uncle Lucifer….."

Cecile just sighed and rolled her eyes at the two of them.

"Someday soon preferably." she said. "And didn't we establish that you two are going through this so you don't go to Uncle Lucifer?"

"Oh yeah," muttered Suzaku.

"That's right." remembered Lelouch.

"Good thing we don't have to grow together for years."

"I don't think I'd be able to handle it."

"And we'd go back to trying to kill each other."

"Out of annoyance."

"Out of aggravation."

"Out of aggression."

"Out of provocation."

"Irritation."

"Infuriation."

"You two are about to push me past the point of exasperation." Cecile sighed, covering her face with her hand.

"Sorry Miss Cecile." they said in unison.

"You two act more like twins." she admitted.

"We make perfect brothers." said Lelouch.

"Yeah, we get into scuffles and pick on each other all day long." said Suzaku.

"My point exactly." Cecile sighed. "Now can we please finish shopping?"

"Alright." they both sighed.

So they continued their shopping picking up two new boxes of band-aids, clear ones so Lelouch wouldn't look like a tacky colorful poster, and several other things that Leon had needed.

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Then the three of them went down to the harbor where they all got ice cream cones and sat watching the boats and ships sail through the water.

"Why did daddy need us to go shopping for him?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"Because he's working all week and so is Sahara. That's why Kit and Mercy are staying at the sanctuary and you're staying with Suzaku and I." Cecile explained. "If they don't work straight through this week, they won't be able to have next week off."

"Why? What's next week?" Suzaku asked curiously.

"The 4th of July is next Saturday. The day that this country celebrates it's independence. Dad's made plans for the whole family to take a group vacation to the capitol where you're Uncle Matt lives with Sebastian."

"Isn't that on the other side of the country?" said Lelouch. "Like, diagonal from here?"

"Yeah, how does grandpa expect us all to fly together?" asked Suzaku.

"I don't know. Apparently they've done it before. It's going to be a nice big family reunion I suppose."

"I haven't even finished memorizing the names of the family here! How am I supposed to remember more?" Lelouch sighed exasperatedly.

"Good question." Cecile shrugged. "I couldn't tell you."

"Why does Grandpa have so many kids anyway?" Suzaku sighed.

"He just wants to give them a better home I suppose. Like with the two of you." Cecile said with a smile. "I remember dad saying he was going to be the exact opposite of my grandfather, and he's worked hard to do it. He's not perfect, but that's why he's who he is. That's why he makes such a wonderful father."

"And why he takes in so many of us?" asked Lelouch.

"Pretty much." agreed Cecile. "And you might want to eat your ice cream a little faster Lelouch, it's about to melt everywhere."

Lelouch gasped when he saw that the ice cream was about to run over the cone and onto his hand. So he began licking away furiously until he ended up with a big glob of cookies and cream on his nose making Cecile chuckle and Suzaku laugh hard enough the he almost fell backwards off the wall that they were sitting on.

Lelouch just waited until Suzaku went back to eating his ice cream, then he gently nudged his arm, causing him to get ice cream all over his nose as well, and making Lelouch laugh too.

"Alright you two, that's enough mess for one day." said Cecile with a smile as she gently cleaned their faces with a napkin.

Suzaku just sneezed loudly, shaking his head.

"I think I got a piece of waffle cone up my nose." he mumbled, taking the napkin as Lelouch laughed even harder. Then he sneezed again, a small piece of the cone falling onto the napkin.

"Ewww!" Lelouch laughed.

"That was your fault!" Suzaku protested. "At least I don't look like I have dirt all over my nose."

Lelouch just blushed and took another napkin and did his best to rub off all of the ice cream on his nose making Suzaku laugh too.

"I think you've gotten it all Lelouch. You're face is starting to turn red because you're rubbing it raw." said Cecile, taking the napkin from him.

"I wonder what Nunnally would think if she could see you now." Suzaku giggled.

"She'd probably be thinking 'my big brother's a bigger nutcase than ever,' or something along those lines anyway." he shrugged.

Lelouch had to admit, he missed Nunnally, he missed her dearly, after all, she was his reason for living, now he knew she was better off in the world without him, and he was very happy in the world he was in now.

"Do either of you ever miss being back home?" Cecile asked thoughtfully.

"Nope." said Suzaku.

"Not by a long shot." Lelouch admitted.

"I miss some of the people there." Suzaku sighed.

"I don't miss anything else about it other than that." Lelouch agreed. "And most of the people there are better off without us."

"Ever wonder why Kallen's here though when her and her mother finally made up, and now that she's an aunt?" Suzaku asked curiously

"There's got to be some reason." admitted Lelouch. "Why is Gino here?"

"Because he's something of an outcast in his own family and he'd rather follow Kallen around like a lost puppy because he adores her." Suzaku said with a chuckle. "Why is Lloyd here?"

"Lloyd just didn't feel like being left behind I suppose." Cecile shrugged. "He seems much happier here though."

"Happier? I didn't know that was possible." said Suzaku.

"Alright, let me rephrase that. He's becoming less and less like a engineering sociopath and more like a normal human, conscious, heart and all."

"Lloyd has a conscious? I didn't know that!" Suzaku said with feigned surprise making Lelouch laugh.

"I didn't think he had much of a heart myself." Lelouch admitted.

"He's in love." said Cecile with a smile.

Suzaku and Lelouch just starred in surprise.

"Lloyd?! In love?! With who?!" they both said in unison.

"Leon's friend Braydon."

Both boys looked at each other, then back at her.

"Braydon? That British captain from WWII?" Suzaku asked.

"That's the one. Didn't you two hear about it? They moved in together almost a month ago."

"Huh, I didn't know Braydon went that way." Lelouch shrugged with a small shake of his head.

"Lloyd's a bit of an odd choice though." Suzaku said, looking out at the water.

"I think they make a cute couple. You should see the two of them together." said Cecile truthfully.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Braydon wears the pants in the relationship." said Lelouch.

"Usually, though occasionally it'll flip flop, like when Braydon get's sick. They're quite happy together really. I've never seen Lloyd so………. human."

"Lloyd acting human? Braydon must be some kind of miracle worker." said Suzaku grinning.

"Considering he's able to pull Lloyd away from his research and machines, I guess he really is." Cecile said with a chuckle.

"I didn't know that was possible." said Suzaku.

"Lloyd actually took off work last week to take care of Braydon when he got really sick. That in itself is quite impressive. But then I had to call him because something went wrong with what we were working on and he just said that it was fine and he'd take care of it when he got back after Braydon was feeling better, so the rest of us could just have the rest of the week off."

"Wow, I guess Lloyd really is in love." said Lelouch in awe.

"I think he's taking advantage of having a clean start here." Cecile admitted. "Just like the rest of us. We've all been through the rough times, and we've all done something wrong in the past. Here we can forget about it all and start all over again."

"I like being a kid again." Suzaku admitted, swinging his legs a little as he continued eating his ice cream.

"Besides all of the trips and tumbles I do too." Lelouch agreed.

Cecile just chuckled at the two of them.

"Finish up your ice cream guys. We've got a few more errands to run." she said.

"Yes ma'am." they said together.

Then they finished eating their ice cream before they all left together.

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Ginger: Yay! Chapter 8 finally! Sorry it took me so long guys! I just had a bit of a block. And as you can see, I decided that Lloyd deserved someone in his life too. Hope you liked it!


	9. The start of an adventure called family

Disclaimer: I don't own code Geass, but I do own the rest of the Midnightstar clan! Yay! I do own something!

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The week leading up to the family trip had gone by quickly, Lelouch and Suzaku now at age six, reaching nearly four feet tall each.

But now they were both covered in Band-aids because they had taken to playing together and when Lelouch took a fall, he usually took Suzaku right down with him.

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So as they walked through the airport with the rest of the family, they couldn't help but notice the people that would chuckle at the sight of them

"I feel like I'm back in the military." Suzaku mumbled as he and Lelouch walked one behind the other in line.

To keep things orderly, all of the children up to Gino and Roderick were in two lines ranging from shortest to tallest. Quatre and Sarah walked in front of the line. Leon and Sahara one on each side and Cecile, Lloyd and Braydon following behind to make sure there were no stragglers.

"Whatever makes it easier I suppose." Lelouch shrugged. "It could be worse.

"Yeah, I guess you've got a point." Suzaku sighed.

But of course it wasn't going to be all that easy.

It was Lelouch's turn to walk through the metal detector, Suzaku wasn't paying attention and he bumped into him.

"Ouch!"

"Oof!"

Suzaku had sent Lelouch tumbling, but as always, he grabbed a hold of Suzaku's arm, trying not to fall, but instead causing them both to tumble through the detector making everyone laugh at them as they tried to untangle themselves.

"That's one way of going through the metal detector." said the guard that was standing there smiling as Leon came through to help them. "At least it didn't go off, so I guess you boy's are good."

"Are you two alright?" Leon asked, helping them each to their feet.

"I think I got rug burn." Suzaku mumbled, holding up his right arm as he tried to straighten his glasses with his left hand. Sure enough there was a patch of red, raw skin, that was about to start bleeding.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you boys." Leon said with a kind smile as he took a large band-aid out of his shirt pocket and covered the scrape while Lelouch got their shoes.

"You okay Suzaku?" Lelouch asked, handing him his shoes.

"Yeah, I'll be alright." he said, trying to balance as he put his shoes back on.

"We got you lace-less shoes to make it easier, but you seem to be making it difficult again." Leon said with a smile as he watched Lelouch.

Lelouch just hopped around trying to slip on his shoes before he fell forward.

"Louie, you're terrible!" Kit giggled, helping him up.

Lelouch just smiled when he saw the huge shoe kit was holding.

Mercy was holding the other one.

"Here you go daddy." Mercy said, handing Leon his left shoe.

"Thanks guys." said Leon smiling as he took his shoes.

"You're shoes are bigger than my head." Suzaku said in awe as Leon sat down to put them back on.

"Well I'm a big guy so I have big feet." Leon said with a smile.

"Hey daddy, what's in the bag?" Kit asked, poking the black garment bag.

"Those are my dress blues Kit."

"You have a blue dress? Why?" Mercy asked making him laugh.

"Not a blue dress silly, it's my fancy blue uniform." he said, kissing her nose and making her giggle.

"Ohhhh! I get it now!" Mercy giggled.

"Why are you taking your fancy uniform Uncle Leon?" Suzaku asked curiously.

"Because I was asked to." he said simply.

"Ohhhhh." was all Suzaku could say.

But soon everyone was back in their lines as they continued to walk towards their gate.

"So how do we figure out who sit's where?" Suzaku whispered to Lelouch as they sat down waiting for the flight to be called.

"Ummm….. I don't know, good question." Lelouch whispered back.

"What are you two whispering about?" Leon asked with a smile as he sat beside them while Quatre counted everyone to make sure they were all there.

"How do we decide who sits where daddy?" Lelouch asked.

"It's usually first come first serve because dad checks in early enough that we take all of the first group boarding passes."

"I call dibs on a window seat!" Lelouch giggled.

"But I want a window seat too." Suzaku muttered. But then he smiled. "But I'm gonna sit with mom."

"Oh, you don't wanna sit with me anymore?" Lelouch asked, pretending to be disappointed.

"I'll always share the seat on the bus with you! Don't you think we'll get tired of each other after a while?" Suzaku laughed.

"I know, I was kidding, I kinda want to sit with Kit and Mercy anyway." he admitted.

"Well I'm sure they'd want to sit with you too." said Leon with a smile.

Lelouch couldn't help but bounce a little in his seat. "I'm kinda excited." he said grinning.

"You look excited." Suzaku said smiling.

"I think Lloyd looks tired." said Lelouch with a smile.

Sure enough Lloyd was dozing off, his head against Braydon's shoulder.

"Hey Uncle Leon, what did Uncle Braydon do before he lived here?" Suzaku asked curiously.

"He was a wood worker before he joined the army."

"A wood worker? Like…… what kind of wood worker?" Lelouch asked.

"Like he did the intricate woodwork for several luxury ocean liners in the thirties. That's why his accent sound's kinda funny. He spent several years in Ireland at the ship yards."

"Cool!" said Suzaku and Lelouch in awe.

"What does he do now?" Suzaku asked.

"Well I think he's hoping to go back to that since he enjoyed it so much. But that you'll have to ask him. You two should take the time to really get to know him. He's got some pretty cool stories."

"Cooler than Grandpa Ashtor's?" asked Lelouch.

"Well it's debatable. I mean, Grandpa Ashtor has been around for over eighty years so he's seen much more. He was there for the battle of Pearl Harbor, the battle of Midway, he was even there for D-day. He lived until 1987. Braydon's only twenty nine. He's seen a lot though. You could always ask him which ship he enjoyed working on the most."

Lelouch and Suzaku just smiled at each other wondering what kind of stories Braydon really had.

"Hey daddy, Grandpa Ashtor's gonna take care of my cuttlefish right?" Lelouch asked, wanting to make sure his squid like relatives were going to be okay.

"Of course Lelouch. Grandpa Ashtor would never let anything happen to your cuttlefish. He knows how much you love them." Leon assured him.

"I still can't believe you've got cuttlefish for pets. That's not normal." said Suzaku.

"Oh, and the arctic wolf that drools all over your head is?" said Lelouch, making Leon chuckle at them.

"Be nice you two. You may act like twins, but you don't want to end up like Roddy and I, of that I can assure you."

"It'd never work right." said Lelouch. "Auntie Cecile said I'm like you and Suzaku's not cheerful enough to be like Uncle Roddy."

Leon just laughed at them. "I guess you've got a point." he agreed.

"So where's Mercy and Kit?" Suzaku asked looking around.

"Over there with Tara, Izzy, and Max."

"Hey daddy, if Mercy and Kit sit with Tara, can I sit with you and Miss Sahara?" Lelouch asked shyly.

"Of course Lelouch. We'll even let you have the window seat."

"Neat!"

"The view hasn't changed that much from the last time I flew cross country. I'm perfectly happy with an aisle seat."

"How do you fit in the seats anyway?" Suzaku asked.

"I'm used to scrunching up in tight spaces." Leon said with a shrug.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted through when their plane arrived and it was time to get in line.

Lelouch jumped out of his seat but forgot to watch for his father's feet, tripping over Leon's toes, and grabbing Suzaku's sleeve, pulling him off the seat.

"You two need to be a little more careful." said Leon catching them both before they hit the floor.

Both boys couldn't help but giggle and laugh as Leon lifted them up and set them down on their feet.

"Alright, get your backpacks, it's almost time to go." he said.

Suzaku grabbed his backpack then ran over to Cecile, taking her hand.

Lelouch took his bag as Sahara joined them.

"Has anyone ever told you how insane your family vacations are?" she asked Leon with a smile.

"Sahara, think about it, after finding out just how weird I am, are you surprised that my family's not that much different?"

"I think your family's something else, that's for sure."

"Why's that?"

"You have a couple of eighteen year olds that look like they're six for one." she said surprising Lelouch by picking him up.

"But I like getting to be a kid again Miss Sahara." said Lelouch. "I'm having fun this time, and I'm happy."

"And still covered in band-aids." said Sahara gently tickling him with a smile.

"It's better than the alternative." Lelouch admitted. "I was supposed to be dead."

"This is true." she agreed.

"Come on you guys, let's get in line." said Leon.

Soon the entire family was boarding the plane, everyone starring in curiosity at such a large, diverse group.

Suzaku sat with Cecile as he had said, and Mercy and Kit sat with Tara, so Lelouch sat in the front sitting beside the window with Leon beside him.

But he couldn't help but smile at the other small groups that formed.

Kallen sat beside Gino with Anya in the row with them, Nina sat with Roderick, Euphie had joined Suzaku and Cecile. Lloyd was sitting with Braydon of course behind the rest of the family.

All together, the family took up nearly a third of the plane, everyone sitting in the front twelve rows or so.

Lelouch just smiled as he sat starring out the window, watching the ground crews work around the plane.

"What are you looking at?" Leon asked kindly with a smile.

"Nothing. I'm just watching everyone." Lelouch shrugged. "How long's the flight?"

"About five hours give or take a bit."

"Five hours?" Lelouch yawned. "I'm getting sleepy just thinking about it."

"I'll be sleeping most of the flight, trust me."

"Well that's cause you worked twelve days straight! I'm going to be sleeping out of boredom." Lelouch admitted.

"Most of the others will be sleeping as well." Leon told him.

"Okay." said Lelouch, then he returned to starring out the window.

He watched as the ground crew went about doing their work before the plane was taxiing to the runway.

Of course he knew it would be just like any other flight he had taken in his life, but he still felt the curiosity and excitement as the plane began to lift off the ground before heading up into the clouds.

But once the plane was level, just like his father, he quietly began to doze. He never realized though, that he had woken Leon up when he curled up against his arm.

But Leon just smiled as Lelouch wrapped his skinny little arms around his much larger one, using him as a pillow, a happy little smile on his face. Then he went back to his own nap, Sahara chuckling softly at the two of them before returning to her book.

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Ginger: Aww...... now wasn't that a cute ending? Anyway, I hope you guys are still enjoying this, and if you'd like to help out, I need suggestions for some of your favorite things that you did at different ages, from age seven to age thirteen. It'd be highly appriciated, thanks everyone!


	10. Wildcats, panda bears, and mail boxes?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Code geass.

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The flight truly had been a long one, Lelouch had spent most of the flight curled up against Leon as they both slept together. Suzaku had spent most of it dozing off with Euphie.

But when they had finally landed, everyone was perfectly happy stretching out their legs as they walked off the plane and into the large airport, even if it meant that everyone had to get back into their orderly lines.

"I slept almost the entire flight." Lelouch yawned.

"Same here." Suzaku admitted as they walked side by side. "I drank soda and I got even sleepier."

Lelouch chuckled a little. "Soda's supposed to wake you up Suzaku, that's what caffeine does."

"I know, but I drank it and I started drifting off." he said, scratching the back of his head yawning.

"Now we look like Lloyd." Lelouch whispered with a smile.

They both glanced back to see Lloyd slouching as he walked with his hands in his pockets, apparently still half asleep.

At least until Braydon rolled his eyes with a smile before he began gently nudging him with his elbow until Lloyd stood upright, shaking his head yawning.

"I wonder why Lloyd's so tired." Lelouch muttered.

"I wonder how Uncle Braydon's managed to pull him away from work twice in one month." Suzaku said.

"That too." Lelouch agreed. "But it looks like daddy's still tired."

Leon was walking beside Lelouch, dragging his feet as he apparently fought the urge to fall asleep walking.

"He's gonna fall." Suzaku whispered.

Sure enough, Lelouch saw one of Leon's steps go awry as one of his feet went in a very awkward angle in front of his other foot, causing him to trip and fall to the floor.

"Are you okay daddy?" Lelouch asked jumping out of line to try and help him up.

"I'm just a bit sleepy still, that's all." Leon muttered standing up.

Lelouch hung on to Leon's arm, and laughed as he was picked up nearly a foot off the floor. Then he dropped down and got back in line as they continued walking.

"That was a pretty hard fall Leon, are you okay?" asked Gino who was behind Lelouch.

"Yeah, I'm kind of used to it now." Leon admitted, then he smiled with a chuckle. "I guess I'm almost as bad as Lelouch."

Lelouch just turned a little red as Suzaku giggled at him.

"So what are we going to do now?" Suzaku asked curiously.

"We're going to get our suitcases, then dad has to go get the bus he rented for the week." said Leon.

"It's kinda sad when you have to rent a bus for one family." Gino said.

"Well it's not like you could stuff us all into a car." said Kallen, joining in the conversation.

"Yeah, but still, most families don't get this big." Gino said.

"Well we could've left you in Britannia and that would've made one less sibling." said Roderick.

"That's mean." Gino muttered.

"Then don't complain." Roderick said with a shrug.

"I wasn't complaining it's just….."

"Don't bother Gino." said Leon cutting him off. "I learned long ago that you can't reason with Roddy. He'll annoy you to death till you either see it his way or else you just shut up."

"Sound's like you and him go perfect together Gino." said Suzaku smiling, making Gino turn red.

"Not as well as Braydon and Mr. Asplund mind you." said Nina with a shy smile.

"True, that's a perfect couple right there." Kallen said with a grin. "Unexpected, but perfect."

The cheerful conversations continued as everyone gathered their luggage and walked outside, waiting for their ride.

"I find it kinda funny that grandpa got a bus license just so he could take the family places." said Lelouch with a smile after the bus pulled up and they all began to board.

"Well Kallen's right, there's no way on earth that you could stuff us all in a car." said Suzaku sitting beside him.

"I know, but it's still funny." said Lelouch with a little bit of a laugh.

"I wonder what we're going to do later." Suzaku said.

"Dad said there's a really neat air and space museum, I want to go there." Lelouch said.

"Air and space museum? Why there?"

"I don't know. He said they have a bunch of really neat old planes. Like a bunch of old bi-planes and stuff, and they have a Grumman F-4 wildcat like the one's that Cameron used to fly before he died."

"Oh, now that might be interesting." Suzaku admitted curiously.

"And they have a recreation of an aircraft carrier flight deck too."

"That's not the only museum that's there I'm sure."

"No, there's one that's natural history. It's got a big dinosaur exhibit."

"I like dinosaurs." said Suzaku cheerfully. "I wanna see one."

"I didn't know you were the type to be fascinated by dinosaurs."

"There's a lot of things that fascinate me that you don't know about."

"They have a postal museum." Lelouch said.

Suzaku starred. "And why would I want to go see a museum about the post office?"

"I don't know." shrugged Lelouch. "I didn't know you were interested in dinosaurs, so I figured maybe by some miracle you might of enjoyed the post office."

"There's a big difference between a tyrannosaurus-rex and a museum about mail and stamps."

"I know. I was just wanted to see if you'd think I was weird."

"Why? Are you interested in a vast stamp collection?"

"No."

"Then no, I don't think you're weird. Well I do, but not for that reason." he said making Lelouch laugh.

"They have a zoo with tigers."

"Why do I need to go to a zoo to see a tiger, when I can go to grandpa's house and see a talking tiger?"

"Elephants?"

"They live in my closet like your wooly mammoth."

"Panda bears?"

"Ooh! I'd like to see a panda."

"There, so see? There is something you'd like to see at the zoo."

"Yes I would like to go see a panda." Suzaku admitted.

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The two continued talking about things they wanted to see as they drove through the city, looking out at the buildings until they reached their hotel.

The rest of the night though was quite uneventful besides the debate on who was rooming with who.

Lelouch and Suzaku were paired together with the a door connecting their room to Cecile's room.

After that was dinner, then they all went to bed early, curious about what type of family adventure the next day would bring.

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Ginger: Anyone else care to see the postal museum? They've got all sorts of old mailboxes through the years! No? You guys sure? Alright. No postal museum. Anyway, next chapter involves the adventures in other museums! What's cuter than a young Lelouch and a young Suzaku filled with childish curiosity? Not much that's for sure! Thanks to you guys who keep this thing going!


	11. Breakfast, Braydon, and Ruth Goldberg?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from code geass...... blah, blah, blah.

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The next morning Lelouch and Suzaku were both woken up by Cecile gently shaking them.

"Come on boys, time to get up." she said cheerfully as both of them tried to hide beneath their blankets.

But after a few more minutes Lelouch got up and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

So Cecile turned her attention back to Suzaku.

"Come on Suzaku, wake up." she said, gently shaking him.

"Nooooo…." he whined. "I'm comfy, I don't wanna get up."

Cecile just shook her head before actually picking him up out of his bed and setting him on his feet on the floor.

"Moooom!" Suzaku protested. "I didn't want to get up!"

"Oh well, too bad."

"Besides Lelouch is hogging the bathroom cause he's taking a shower." he said trying to make excuses.

"Well since I'm ready to go, you can use my bathroom. SO that's not the right kind of excuse."

Suzaku just pouted as he crossed his arms against his chest with a little huff.

"What happened to the disciplined soldier that would get up at the crack of dawn every morning?" she asked with a smile.

"He went out the window when I remembered just how wonderful a comfy bed is." he mumbled, as he walked into Cecile's room

After a while the entire group was downstairs eating breakfast as the family took up nearly half of the tables.

"I've never known you to not want to get up Suzaku." said Lelouch with a smile.

"I was comfortable." Suzaku yawned. "I'm not much of a morning person anymore."

"I was gonna say, if I remember right you were always the first one of us to get up." said Gino smiling. "Even Anya never wanted to get up."

"I've been sleeping better." Suzaku admitted.

"You've been smiling more." said Anya.

"I haven't had much of a reason to frown."

"So does anyone know what we're doing today?" Kallen asked.

"I'm pretty sure we're splitting up into groups." Roderick said.

"I hope we're with Uncle Braydon." said Mercy. "I love uncle Braydon and Uncle Lloyd."

"You're one of the first to love Uncle Lloyd, Mercy." said Lelouch with a smile. "He's just a bit too weird for most of us."

"Uncle Braydon knows so many cool things though!" said Shirley cheerfully.

"Like what?" asked Gino.

"He's a history wiz for one." she said.

"He's our history teacher." said Nina smiling. "He's got some neat stories to tell from the thirties and forties."

"I remember dad saying he used to work in a Irish shipyard." said Lelouch.

"He dated Travis's wife a long time ago." said Euphie.

Everyone starred.

"Talk about a small world." said Suzaku with a small shake of his head.

"Who would've thought that man swings both ways." said Gino with a smile.

"Gino, there are little kids here." Kallen sighed. "Not counting Lelouch and Suzaku."

"Oh. Oops." he muttered, a red tint to his cheeks.

Everyone just smiled and laughed a little though.

Soon everyone was on the bus, on their way to their first adventure.

When they had finally arrived at their stop, they were all split into two groups.

And to Mercy's delight they had Lloyd and Braydon with them.

Their group consisted of Lelouch, Suzaku, Kit, Mercy, Gino, Kallen, Euphie, Anya, Shirley, Nina, and Roderick. The 'adults' of the group were Leon, Sahara, Cecile, Lloyd and Braydon.

And their first stop was the American history museum.

"What are we doing first?" Leon asked.

"I suppose we'll go to the exhibit that'll probably turn Lloyd into a child." said Braydon, grinning.

"Oh? And what exhibit would that be?" asked Lloyd stubbornly.

"The Invention at play exhibit of course." said Braydon as if it was obvious, making everyone chuckle a little.

"At play? Meaning?"

"You have to play with stuff to invent stuff Uncle Lloyd." Mercy giggled.

"Do I now Mercy?"

"Of course you do! How else do you think people come up with those rube Goldberg machines?"

"And what would you know about those?" Lloyd asked, grinning.

"I know that they're a ridiculously complex way to do one simple task. And they're really fun to watch too! My daddy made one once, it took up the whole living room!"

"And what did it do?"

"It turned on the T.V." she giggled. "It took it three and a quarter minutes for it to go through the process. Just to turn on the T.V. We used thirty feet of wooden toy track, thirteen marbles, five bottles of cola, and there were a bunch of other useless things and it took us the whole day to make."

"And all it did was turn on the telly? That's quite amusing." Braydon said with a chuckle. "But I don't want to know why it involved five bottles of cola."

"Chemical reactions Braydon. Haven't you seen those cola fountains?" Leon asked smiling.

"No, can't say that I have."

"Remember those old Mentos candies?"

"Yeah, they tasted terrible." said Braydon sticking out his tongue.

"Stick some in a bottle of cola and you've got a fountain that can reach about twenty feet."

"Ooh, sounds like fun." said Lloyd.

"We had to call the carpet cleaners the next day." Mercy said giggling.

"Five bottle's worth of cola all over the floor is quite a mess indeed." said Lloyd picking her up.

"It went everywhere! It was really funny!"

"I used to build those kind of things when I was a kid. I drove my mother up the walls because my room would be covered in tubes, track, and marbles." said Leon with a chuckle.

"So are we going to go see what else can be created when you use a little imagination?" asked Sahara.

"If everyone wants to walk up the stairs." said Braydon.

Suzaku and Lelouch watched in curiosity as Lloyd went to take the lead, smiling as he gently tickled Mercy.

"You're getting weirder Lloyd." said Suzaku as they walked towards the stair case.

"I'm finally acting human and yet you say I'm getting stranger?" he said amused, ruffling Suzaku's hair.

Suzaku made a move as if to bite Lloyd's hand making him pull back quickly.

"What was that? Are you trying to pull an Arthur all of the sudden?" Lelouch asked smiling as Suzaku crossed his arms against his chest stubbornly.

"Smile Kururugi!" Gino said with a laugh.

"I don't like being compared to a stubborn cat with sharp teeth." Suzaku sighed.

"There are plenty of worse things to be compared to Suzaku." said Cecile kindly.

Suzaku just grumbled as he continued up the stairs with the others as they all wondered what they were about to find on the floor just above them.

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Ginger: Sorry it took so long guys. This is just another one of my wonderful filler chapters. The next chapter involves a history lesson. Sorry to spring it on you right after everone got out of school, but pay attention kiddies! There will be a pop quiz later on in the story. BTW: what does everyone think of a little side story about Lloyd and Braydon and their relationship and how it came to be? Let me know! I don't care if it's in a review or a PM!


	12. The start of Braydon's history lecture

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Code Geass.

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It had been quite interesting seeing Lloyd act like a giddy, giggly child.

He had joined Mercy playing in the exhibits, and enjoying the puzzles and thought provoking activities.

"I told you that exhibit would make you act like a child." Braydon said smiling as they moved on.

"Ah, I forgot the things that inspired me as a child." said Lloyd, a content smile on his face.

"You were a kid?" Gino snickered.

"Oh please! We were all children at one point weren't we?" Lloyd sighed making Braydon chuckle at him. "Looking at you, I'd say you were the type to be put on medication for hyper activity."

Gino blushed a little.

"No, that was me Lloyd." said Roderick proudly. "My mum actually preferred me when I was on my medication and asleep on the couch."

"Of course she did! You were so hyper you wore out the puppy and you still had energy left over!" said Leon with a raised brow.

"And I thought I was bad." said Gino laughing.

It was then that Roderick playfully tackled Gino sending them both tumbling to the floor where they sat up laughing before Gino tackled Roddy.

"Alright children." said Leon picking them both off the ground by the scruffs of their shirt collars. "You're acting worse than the actual children here."

"Oh but it was so fun Leon. You need to loosen up a little." Roderick laughed tugging on his brother's face.

"I could always beat you into the ground like I did Braydon." Leon threatened quietly.

"You wouldn't! You love me to much!" Roddy laughed.

Leon just let Roderick go, letting him fall hard onto the floor.

"One of these days Leon, he's going to get a concussion from that." Cecile sighed.

"How? His head's too thick to cause any injury to him." Leon said as he set Gino down.

"I'm not as thick headed as you of course." said Roderick brushing himself off.

"You know, I must admit, you're one of the few things that put me into a bad mood when I'm happy." Leon grumbled.

"Cameron's one of those things too daddy." said Kit.

"Yes Cameron just makes me want to kill him a second time."

"So are we going to see anything else?" Nina asked.

"Of course we are Nina." said Braydon.

"We just have to start walking." said Lloyd.

So they all continued through the exhibits, until they came to the WWI exhibit.

"My father fought in this war when I was a kid." said Braydon. "I was two years old."

"Why is it called World War one?" Kallen asked. "Was there more than one World War?"

"There were two actually. What I find ironically amusing is that at one point we called this the Great war. Or else it was known as the 'war to end all wars.' So much for that idea huh?"

"'The war to end all wars'? That bad huh?" Suzaku mumbled looking at a uniform on display.

"15 million killed. Unheard of back in those days." Braydon told them.

"Are you going to give us a history lesson Uncle Braydon?" Shirley asked.

"Your chance to be out of school and you want a history lesson?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Well you do make history lessons amusing, and I'd rather learn all of this with one of your lectures instead of reading a book." Gino admitted.

"He's got a point." Kallen agreed nodding.

"Alright then, an entertaining history lesson it is!" Braydon said, clapping his hands together.

"This ought to be interesting." Leon sighed with a smile.

"You get to help of course Leon, after all, you know just as much as I do. Especially WWII."

"That's because I was stuck with you during the invasion I didn't even exist during."

"So what started the war Uncle Braydon?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"Well first you have to understand who was on what side. There was the allied powers which involved France, Russia, the U.K. Canada, Australia, Portugal, the U.S., Serbia, and at the time the Japanese empire and Italy. Though there were plenty of others like Greece, Romania….. All those great little countries that most people don't even know exist really."

"Kinda funny to think that Japan and Italy ended up our enemies in WWII isn't it?" said Leon.

"Yes but that comes later. Get too far ahead and you'll confuse the poor kiddies." said Braydon with a smile.

"Okay, so who were the enemies then?" Gino asked as everyone sat on the floor in front of him, off to the side of the room.

"That would be the central powers. Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman empire, and Bulgaria."

"What started it?" Suzaku asked.

"Well……. That's where it's debatable. There had been tensions between several countries like Austria-Hungary and Serbia for years. But the main cause was when a young Serbian named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Hungary. Then alliances began to come into play after Austria Hungary declared war on Serbia."

"That's it? That's all that started it? One man killed another and it sent the whole world into chaos?" Euphie asked.

"Pretty much." Braydon confirmed.

"I kinda did the same thing, remember Euphie?" Lelouch said.

"No you started a war but fueled it on purpose." said Suzaku. "You just wanted to overthrow the Britannian empire and you knew that starting a war would be the best way."

"Hey it worked didn't it? The world's a better place now, isn't it?"

"That's not the point." Suzaku sighed.

"Anyway, back to what caused most of this war." said Braydon.

"You might also want to explain how certain countries got involved Braydon." Leon pointed out.

"Ah yes. The allies started out as the Triple Entente. France, the U.K. and the Russian empire. Then others got pulled in. Like the U.S. with the Zimmerman telegram which was sent from Germany to Mexico hoping that if the U.S. which was a neutral country at the time looked like it was about to enter the war, the German ambassador could convince Mexico into a military alliance by promising them the land lost in the Mexican-American war if Germany won and managed to gain control of the U.S."

"Political mess then?" said Nina.

"A very big political mess Nina." Braydon confirmed with a nod of his head. "It caused quite a ruckus. It had been intercepted by the British, So the U.S. entered the war after they heard about it, declaring war on Germany and it's allies."

"And I thought our war got complicated?" Gino sighed.

"So then what happened Uncle Braydon?" Mercy asked curiously.

"A big mess." he shrugged. "Everyone was at war everywhere. Literally. I'll be honest, sometimes it seemed more like a fight over land than anything. Like when Japan tried to seize German colonies in the Pacific. It was also the start of trench warfare and chemical warfare. The Germans would attack Merchant ships and civilian ocean liners which caused Brittan and the U.S. to join in the naval war. It all lasted a little over four years."

"What stopped it?" Kallen asked.

"They just wanted to stop the fighting so some countries asked for armistice before allied troops had to set foot in Germany. Then the Treaty of Versailles was signed. After that there wasn't much left of the Central powers. Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman empire was pretty much gone. There was nothing left of them. People were so shocked by the damage and casualties the league of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles were created hoping that something like that would never happen again."

"So then……. Why did it happen again?" Suzaku asked, scratching the top of his head a little.

"Because the Treaty of Versailles was mostly aimed at restricting Germany's power. Between that, the repercussion of the German loss and European Nationalism, it started the whole thing over again about twenty one years later. Especially because they just signed armistice treaties to end it. Because of it many German's believed they never actually 'lost' the war."

"How'd that happen?" Kit asked. "If it was supposed to restrict power, how'd they get strong enough to fight again?"

"We'll save that lesson for the next exhibit Kit." said Braydon.

So everyone got up and walked around looking at all of the different exhibits and collections, feeling a lot more interested now that they understood what had happened.

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Ginger: Okay! The begining of Braydon's history lesson. Time for the first pop quiz question! Who remembers the date of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination? Anyone care to take a guess? Anyway........ what does everyone think about a Lloyd and Braydon side story? Let me know guys! Thanks for reading!


	13. A disruption in the midst of the lesson

Disclaimer: I don't own code Geass.

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Ginger: Braydon's history lesson is continuing to get interesting. Unfortunately our favorite fighting ghost brother's are about to disrupt it.

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"So now, why was there a World War two?" Anya asked as they moved on.

"Well one of the biggest causes was the Treaty of Versailles. But at the same time Japan suddenly invaded China and destroyed Nanking and Shanghai. Quite Literally. You can ask Mr. Malachai about that bit. He had to take care of those souls as well."

"Why'd Japan invade China?" Suzaku asked.

"Well I guess it was because Japan wanted to create a 'New order' per se, ridding the Pacific of Western influences. Why that involved laying ruin to parts of China are beyond me really. I was a part of the European front so I don't really know what all happened over in the pacific. The Ashtor brothers also know of course because they were all stationed in the pacific."

"I would know what?" asked Travis appearing out of nowhere.

"About the Pacific front."

"There wasn't a whole bunch I really knew about it except that it was our job to dig those crazy nutcases out of their holes. Now granted, I'm not saying the entire country was insane, but the military was half the time. What's going on? History lesson?"

"Something like that." Braydon confirmed.

"Ah. Tell them about the European front. It was the more interesting front anyway." Travis shrugged. "I don't remember much to be honest, I think I got hit in the head one too many times."

"That and you killed half of your brain trying to drink yourself to death." growled Cameron appearing beside him.

"Are you guys ever gonna make up and be nice again?" Lelouch asked.

"Make me." Cameron said stubbornly.

"It's kinda sad to see that he had such a happy picture in his records." Suzaku whispered.

"What records?" Cameron asked.

"Your record in Mr. Malachai's book of souls." said Suzaku as if it was obvious. "You looked happy enough, what changed?"

Cameron opened his mouth as if to say something, but then he paused and he suddenly had a bewildered look on his face.

"What's wrong Cameron? A sudden loss of words? I've never known that to happen to you." said Leon.

"I don't know why I changed so suddenly." he admitted. "I was happy enough when I was Grant's guardian, I even put up with Travis pretty well. It just happened within the last year."

"So you became a mean and nasty man and you don't know why?" Mercy asked.

"No I don't." he admitted, scratching the back of his head, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Then why don't you just call a truce so you can go back to wherever you came from and get away from Travis?" asked Lelouch as if it made perfect sense.

"Huh, I never thought about it that way." Cameron shrugged.

"What was your reason for fighting with your brother in the first place?" Anya asked, her head tilted to the side, the only sign of her curiosity.

Cameron looked at her with a raised brow. "You never had biological siblings did you?" he asked.

"Not that I can remember."

"I fight with Travis for the same reason Leon fights with Roderick."

"Only we took it to a whole new level of violence." said Travis. "Remember that one time….. You know…… With the baseball bat and the kitchen knife?"

"Oh yeah. That was the worst fight ever."

"A baseball bat and a kitchen knife? Do we even want to know why?" Cecile asked.

"I had the bat." said Travis. "And I was defending myself."

"Because I had the largest knife in the kitchen." said Cameron.

"I had to go get twenty seven stitches because he actually managed to get close enough."

"I had three broken ribs."

"And you thought me dropping Roddy on his head was bad?" Leon muttered.

"So can't the two of you make up now?" Suzaku sighed.

"I've tried." Travis said. Then he gave Cameron a truly heartfelt look. "Please big brother? I don't want to fall through the kitchen counter anymore."

Cameron looked at him and blinked a little as Travis held out his hand.

"I don't……. oh, whatever. I'd rather go back home anyway. Fine. Permanent Truce." he said shaking Travis's hand. "No more fighting."

"Wow, he's actually smiling." said Suzaku.

"Yeah, that was my reaction the first time I saw you smile again." Gino said, roughing up Suzaku's hair.

But Suzaku attempted to bite, just like he had with Lloyd."

"Stop trying to bite people Suzaku, that's bad." Cecile chided.

Suzaku just huffed as he turned a little red.

"Hey, where'd Mr. Travis and Mr. Cameron go?" asked Kallen suddenly.

"Hopefully home." said Leon smiling. "At least it get's them out of my hair."

"What about Grandpa Ashtor?" Lelouch asked. "I don't want him to go away."

"We're not really going anywhere. We'll I am. I think Leon would prefer to stay here though." came a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see Cameron in large brown shoes, jeans and a brightly colored floral shirt that just screamed tourist.

Travis was in a pair of jeans and a white shirt with canvas sneakers.

"It's nice to get out of that uniform for the first time in fifty some odd years." he said smiling.

Everyone looked at Cameron and chuckles and laughter filled the room.

"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want, but I did live in Hawaii." he sighed.

"Smile Cameron, you're alive." said Travis, nudging him with his elbow.

"And I'm praying my home is still where I left it." Cameron said.

"Do you really think Amy and Conner would give up the plantation?" Travis said with a smile.

"I guess not." he shrugged.

"When did you die Mr. Cameron?" Anya asked.

"The battle of Midway. When the Carrier I was stationed on was hit. Figures it was the only one sunk too."

"Ohhh." she said in understanding.

"So what now?" Suzaku asked.

"We continue the history lesson I suppose." said Braydon with a shrug and a smile. "Except now you can let Cameron and Travis be your teachers."

"I don't want to be a teacher." said Cameron stubbornly. "Besides I died only a year after we entered the can be a teacher."

"Hey, I tutored Leon's kid didn't I?"

"I don't remember that." said Kit.

"Wrong Leon. Sorry. You're grandpa Ashtor's kid. Grant."

"oh. Okay."

"So what am I supposed to be teaching exactly?"

"How to be a professional drunk." Cameron suggested with a snicker.

"Oh ha ha!" Travis laughed sarcastically. "If I remember right, you drank too."

"Yeah, but I never drank fifteen beers in one sitting."

"Okay you two. Redemption's finally over because you made up and now your going to argue? Isn't that against the whole truce?" Cecile sighed.

"We'll still argue." said Travis.

"I just won't attack him with a kitchen knife again." said Cameron.

"And I won't chase after him with a shovel."

"You two are something else. Really." said Lloyd, shaking his head.

"And you're not?" Suzaku said with a raised brow.

"I was an scientific sociopath of course I was something else." Lloyd shrugged making Braydon roll his eyes with an affectionate smile.

"Let's move on, shall we?" Braydon suggested.

So everyone let Braydon usher them through the room to the next exhibit.

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Ginger: Okay guys next pop quiz question! Cameron died in the battle of Midway so it's only fitting that we supply a question involving him! So...... who can name Cameron's carrier, along with the Japanese Carriers sunk in that battle? So far two out of three got the last question right. Digimondreamer and starlight luna. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated on June 28th 1914. Let's see if they can keep up their good grades in Braydon's class. Anyway! Thanks to everyone!


	14. Suzaku needs his mommy

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass

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It had been a very long day filled with interesting facts.

And Lelouch and Suzaku felt as if their heads were gonna blow as they flopped down on their beds.

"How am I supposed to remember all that when school starts?" Suzaku groaned, his face buried in his pillow.

"How does Uncle Braydon remember it all?" Lelouch sighed, starring at the ceiling. "Especially considering he wasn't around between 1945 to about a year ago."

"No wonder he became a history teacher. He knows it all right off the top of his head. It's insane."

"Alright you two, it's time to go to bed." said Cecile walking into the room.

"But mooom!" Suzaku whined. "It's only ten."

"That's late."

"I'm eighteen." he huffed, annoyed.

"Oh quit whining Suzaku." said Lelouch digging in his drawer for his pajamas. "Why bother staying up late if you're going to have to wake up super early anyway?"

"There see Suzaku, listen to Lelouch."

"Traitor." Suzaku grumbled.

"Go to bed Suzaku, we've got another long day tomorrow." Cecile said kindly.

"Yes mother." he finally sighed getting up.

Lelouch just giggled a little at Suzaku's disgruntled look.

Before long both boys were in their beds, starring at the ceiling.

"Are you still awake Suzaku?" Lelouch sighed after a while.

"I'm always awake at this time." Suzaku grumbled grouchily. "I can never sleep."

"Why are you so grouchy all of the sudden?" Lelouch asked, rolling over to look at him.

"I just am." Suzaku sighed. Though he at least admitted to himself that part of his problem was that he now needed his little mobile of spinning Lancelots to fall asleep and he had left Nanuq at home to make sure no one found out that he was still sleeping with a plushy.

"If I'm cheerful, I don't see why you shouldn't be."

Suzaku just sighed and rolled over, facing away from Lelouch as he buried himself underneath his blanket.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Lelouch asked kindly. "How come you can't sleep?"

"Because I feel more comfortable in my own bed." Suzaku admitted.

"Well that can't be the only reason." Lelouch insisted.

Suzaku just huffed and growled a bit as he pulled the blanket over his head.

Lelouch just sighed and buried himself in the blankets before he drifted off to sleep.

Suzaku on the other hand continued to lay awake. He could tell Lelouch had fallen asleep because, since they had become children, Lelouch always seemed to make a strange whistling noise as he slept.

After a little while longer, Suzaku sighed and pulled the blankets off of his head just to hear the quiet noise, and see the faint light of a television coming through the door that lead to Cecile's room which was slightly ajar.

So he got out of bed and went next door to find Cecile curled up and drifting off in her own bed.

"Mommy?" Suzaku asked softly, quietly approaching the bed.

"Hmmm? What is it Suzaku?" Cecile asked softly.

"I can't sleep." he said, climbing onto the bed to sit beside her.

"Why can't you sleep?" She asked, gently running a hand through his messy hair.

"I don't have my Lancelots, and I miss Nanuq." he admitted.

"I told you to bring Nanuq." she chided softly.

"I know, but I didn't want anyone to know I was sleeping with a plushy. I'm supposed to be turning nineteen this year." he said, somewhat embarrassed as he played with a crease in the blanket.

"So? Nineteen year olds don't come to their mommy's when they can't sleep either. Yet you did."

Suzaku said nothing, he just looked away with a tiny growl.

"So what do you want me to do Suzaku?" she asked.

"Can I…… well……. maybe…… possibly……. sleep………..with you?" he asked, softly, somewhat embarrassed, his last two words so quiet Cecile couldn't hear.

"What? I didn't hear what you said at the end silly." Cecile said with a tiny chuckle.

"Can I….. maybe…… sleep with you tonight?" he asked cautiously. "Please Mommy?"

Cecile smiled kindly and nodded.

"Of course you can Suzaku." she agreed.

Suzaku smiled and jumped under the covers, feeling much more comfortable as Cecile wrapped her arms around him tight.

"There now, is that better?" she asked smiling.

"Yup! Much better! Thanks Mommy!" he said curling up against her as the child in him took over.

"Alright then, go to sleep."

"Okay. I love you mommy."

Cecile smiled and gently kissed his forehead. "I love you too Suzaku."

"I love you lot's and lot's! I'm glad you're my mommy!" he said with a yawn, suddenly feeling sleepy.

"Well I'm glad you're my little knight." Cecile said smiling as Suzaku quickly began to drift off. "Sweet dreams sweetheart."

Suzaku just smiled a little before quickly falling into a deep peaceful sleep.

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Ginger:Sorry it took me so long everyone! Just another one of my famous and lame filler chapters. But hey, you gotta admit that the fluff between young Suzaku and Mommy Cecile's pretty cute right? Anyway,don't think this got you out of your quiz! *evil laugh* Braydon's offered a bonus question since no one learned anything and Lelouch asked for a question about his mysteriously weird father. The question is: What is the town in Whales that Leon came from? I'll even give you a hint: It's in the first story in chapter 18 and it deals with Leon's devilish temper. Have fun with that one kiddies! Anyway, thanks for reading on!!!!!!! I love you all!!!!


	15. A 2 AM walk with Grandpa

Disclaimer: I will never own Code Geass........ I would like to though.

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It was nearly two am when Lelouch woke up with a gasp, breathing heavily, cold sweat running down his face.

He had been trapped in a nightmare. He couldn't remember what the nightmare was exactly, he just remembered there was a lot of darkness and a never ending fear.

"Suzaku? Are you still up?" Lelouch asked, looking at the bed next to his. But he was surprised to see Suzaku's bed empty. "Suzaku? Suzaku, where are you?"

He quietly got out of bed and crept over to the door to Miss Cecile's room where he found Suzaku sound asleep, curled up in Cecile's arms with a content smile on his face.

"SO much for finding someone to talk to." he muttered, walking back into his room and looking out the window.

At 2am the city seemed peaceful as the lights lit up the somewhat cloudy sky, turning the purple a faint shade of orange.

Normally Lelouch would've felt comforted by the sight, but instead he felt fidgety as the fear from his nightmare crept up inside him, and he suddenly remembered what he had dreamt about.

Loosing his family. He was terrified of being torn away from his new family and being thrown into the depths of his own personal Hell.

After staring out the window for a few more minutes, he grabbed his key card and walked out into the brightly lit hallway. He then quietly padded down the carpeted corridor until he reached the room his father was sharing with Sahara.

But just as he was about to knock he heard a somewhat familiar voice behind him.

"Lelouch? What are you doing out here at this time of night?"

Lelouch looked up to see Quatre looking down at him with a kind smile and oddly enough, he was fully dressed too.

"Sorry Grandpa. I had a really bad dream and Suzaku and Miss Cecile were asleep, so I was going to talk to daddy about it.

"A bad dream huh? Well I'm here if you want to talk about it. Come on, why don't you put on some clothes and we'll take a little walk?"

"To where?"

"I don't really know yet. It'll probably be a long one though. Are you up to it?"

"Sure, why not?" Lelouch said with a shrug.

So Lelouch went and got dressed, and before long the two of them were walking along the national mall.

"So what was this nightmare about?" Quatre asked kindly.

"I can't really remember all of it. But I remember it had something to do with being taken away from the family." he said, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his windbreaker.

"Well you know Malachai and I would never let that happen right?"

"I know, but it's still a scary thought."

"True. I don't think I could ever imagine being taken away from here." Quatre admitted, looking up at the sky thoughtfully.

"I never really felt as happy as I do here. I don't want to be taken away."

"You won't Lelouch, I promise." said Quatre, gently ruffling the boy's hair.

"So…… any idea where we're going yet?"

"Not really." Quatre shrugged. "I just like to walk around the national mall. I used to spend a lot of time here with my mom and my little brother Will."

"You have a little brother?" Lelouch asked surprised.

"His name is Will, he's twenty three. Go by physical age we're five years apart. Go by real age we're fifty five years apart. He was more like Leon's playmate though."

"I don't think I can imagine daddy when he was young enough to have a playmate." Lelouch admitted with a grin.

"Well remember Will is three years older than him. But Will I think was the only kid really brave enough to play with him. He was the only one brave enough to try and tackle him for that matter. Not like he ever succeeded, but he had fun trying."

Lelouch just smiled and shook his head.

"How many people does it take to tackle you?" he asked smiling.

"Honestly?"

"Yeah, Honestly grandpa."

"Hmmm….. Joe, Mark, Will, Sebastian, Usually a few little ones, Braydon, Gino….."'

Lelouch laughed. "I notice Dad isn't on that list."

"That's because he can take me down without problem. When it comes to tackling him though it usually takes, Will, Leon Ashtor, Malachai and I put together."

"Sometimes I wonder about this family." Lelouch admitted.

"Sometimes I wonder too, but family is family no matter who's a part of it, right?"

"You mean no matter _what's _a part of it."

"That too, that too." he agreed smiling as they walked into a huge memorial with a lit fountain in the middle.

"What's this?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"The World War Two memorial."

Lelouch looked around at the pillars with curiosity.

"What are all the pillars for?"

"There's a pillar for every state."

"And the wall with all those stars?"

"There's four thousand stars on there. Each star represents about a hundred known casualties."

"Wow, that's a lot of stars." said Lelouch starring at the wall. Then he continued looking around until he looked in a corner and found a funny little cartoon man with a big nose poking over a wall. "What does it mean, 'Kilroy was here'?" he asked.

"Ask Leon Ashtor, I'm sure he knows the answer."

"Okay, I'll try and remember that."

"Speaking of the Ashtor brothers, want to see something kinda funny?"

Lelouch starred. "Funny?"

"Well…. Amusing, technically speaking it's not really 'funny' but, then again, in our family, death can be a bit funny."

"Only in our family can death be funny." Lelouch sighed.

"I know, but come on, I'm sure you'll still laugh." said Quatre walking off.

Lelouch starred after him for a moment. Then he ran after him.

"Hey grandpa! Wait up!" he called, running to him.

Quatre paused and turned to look at him with a smile.

"I can't run that fast Grandpa." said Lelouch trying to catch up. "I couldn't run that fast when I was a teenager, let alone now, with these short legs!"

Quatre just laughed as he caught Lelouch and picked him up, putting him on his shoulders.

"There, now you don't have to try and keep up." he said.

Lelouch just giggled, resting his chin in Quatre's fluffy blonde spikes.

"Okay, so what did you want to show me Grandpa?" he asked as they continued walking.

"You'll see."

"Okay. So….. When to I get to meet Grandma Kallie and Uncle Will?"

"When we see the fireworks on Saturday. They have to work until then." Quatre explained.

"Oh, okay."

Lelouch couldn't help but feel very content on Quatre's shoulders as they walked around.

"You're awful quiet up there Lelouch, are you alright?"

"Yup. I'm just looking around." Lelouch said, looking at the grassy hills around them. But then he felt curious as they came to a memorial with several statues next to a large granite wall. "What's this?"

"The Korean war memorial." said Quatre walking along the wall.

Lelouch looked at the wall to see faces etched into the black stone.

"Wow, this wall must've taken so much work." he said in awe.

"It did, but here's the funny bit." he said stopping at one spot. Then he pointed to a picture. "Who does that look like?"

Lelouch looked at it closely for a minute. Then smiled. "It looks like Mr. Travis!"

"Yup. Kinda funny huh?"

"Yeah it is!" Lelouch said with a giggle as they began to walk away.

"We still have yet to figure out where they got that picture. But it's good for a laugh." Quatre admitted.

"So where to now Grandpa?" Lelouch asked.

"I don't know. We'll just see where we go." Quatre shrugged.

"Okay. So why is all of this in the same place?"

"I don't know. I'm not that good with American history. I just know what I learned in school."

Lelouch smiled. "Did you have to go through school again?" he asked curiously as he looked up at the stars.

"Only a few years. My mother and my little brother helped me out. A lot!"

"At least Uncle Braydon can help me." Lelouch admitted.

Quatre laughed. "See, I didn't have Braydon to help me. But I did have Malachai. That was an adventure in itself."

"I can just imagine."

"Imagine your closet taking you places as a history lesson, that was Malachai's way of teaching."

Lelouch smiled. "That bad?"

"I like hands on learning, trust me. But when the bullets of WWI are whizzing past your head, and you have a bunch of angry red coats chasing you because they think you're a yank during the American Revolution……. That's a little too hands on in my opinion."

Lelouch just laughed. "Sounds like it. But it's probably better than P.E."

"I heard you're not much of an athlete."

"I was in remedial P.E. Of course I'm not much of an athlete. What about you?"

"I got lucky, I had both brains and athletic ability. If I didn't….. I probably wouldn't be here."

"So what's this big building here?" asked Lelouch as they walked up towards the steps of a big marble monument.

"This is the Lincoln Memorial. Made for president Abraham Lincoln. But you'll learn more about him later. Said Quatre setting him down on the steps and sitting down beside him.

Lelouch plopped down on the step beside him and smiled as Quatre sat cross legged like a kid. They both looked out at the lit Washington Monument.

"So what now Grandpa?" Lelouch asked.

"What do you mean what now? Do you mean what are we doing next? Or what's going to happen next in your life?"

"Kinda…… both." he admitted. "I have no idea what I'm going to do here."

"You've got time to think. That's what I loved about my second chance. I'll be honest, I never in a million years thought I'd fly on a plane, let alone be a fighter pilot."

Lelouch looked at him in curiosity. "Why did you think you'd never fly?"

"Because I was afraid to. Cecile used to laugh at me because when I had to travel for work, I'd never fly."

"How'd you get anywhere?" Lelouch asked, somewhat surprised at the revelation.

"I drove, or I took a train, when I had to go overseas……. I went by boat. It took several days but…….. I preferred it."

"A boat? To get overseas?"

"Afraid so." Quatre said smiling.

"So then……. Why do you fly now?"

"Let's just say Malachai helped me discover the joy of flight." said Quatre, Malachai's black wings stretching out from his back as he starred at the sky.

Lelouch starred at the wings.

The long black feathered appendages stretched out with a wing span of at least 30 feet. It was absolutely incredible.

"How does Mr. Malachai walk with these things?" Lelouch asked with a giggle as he touched one.

"They're not as heavy as you'd think." Quatre said as they disappeared. "But Malachai always loved to fly. Now I do too."

"That's interesting." Lelouch said with a yawn.

"Getting sleepy finally?" Quatre said with a grin.

"Yup. Finally." he said, leaning against Quatre.

"Goodnight Lelouch." Quatre said, softly, gently wrapping his arm around the boy's shoulders.

Lelouch just curled up against Quatre and before long he drifted off to sleep.

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Ginger: Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I've been super busy! Anyway, on with Braydon's quiz! Next question! 'What is the main story behind the 'Kilroy was here'? *hint* it had to do with Shipbuilding.' Good luck guys! And so far Digimon dreamer and Starlight Luna have an A+! Let's see if you guys can keep it up! Thanks for being patient guys!


	16. a short chapter with fireworks

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this really.

Ginger: Sorry for the tiny chapter.

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It had been a long week leading up to Saturday, and Lelouch had to admit that he felt exhausted as they sat on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for the fireworks.

The family had spent the day running around together, now accompanied by several other family members that had come to join in the festivities.

It had been fun, but draining.

Even Suzaku looked sleepy as he curled up against Cecile.

"Don't fall asleep before the fireworks start Lelouch." Leon said with a kind smile.

Lelouch just smiled up at him. "No, I won't. Promise." he said. "I can't say the same for Suzaku though."

Leon chuckled a little. "He does look like he's about to fall asleep doesn't he?"

"Kinda." Lelouch agreed. But then he giggled a little when Lloyd began poking Suzaku, annoying the boy until he turned around and slapped him, making the man laugh.

But then Mercy poked Lloyd.

"Can I sit on your shoulders for the fireworks Uncle Lloyd?" she asked curiously.

"Of course Mercy." Lloyd agreed with a smile.

"So how much longer?" Lelouch asked.

"About two minutes." said Leon standing up as he looked at his watch.

"So why are you standing?" Lelouch asked.

"Up daddy?" Kit asked reaching up for him.

"Of course Kit." said Leon picking him up

Lelouch smiled as Kit sat perched on one of Leon's shoulders like a bird.

"Do you want up as well Lelouch?" Leon asked.

Lelouch nodded and let Leon pick him up.

He giggled as Leon took both of his hands in one of his large ones and lifted him up effortlessly onto the other shoulder.

"Not very many people are big enough to fit two kids on their shoulders." he said.

"One of the few good things about me being bulky." Leon said with a smile. "Of course, other than that it's not good for much."

"No one can tackle you when you play football daddy." Kit said smiling.

"This is true." he agreed.

Just then the first firework exploded in the sky before them as the crowd gasped in awe.

Lelouch smiled as the watched the fireworks match the patriotic music. Then he remembered spending time with his friends as they launched fireworks off the roof of Ashford Academy. It reminded him of the few happy times he had spent back in Britannian ruled Japan.

Of course at the time he never realized that this was where he would spend every fourth of July with his family, with his own pair of twin girls beside him as he spent his time reminiscing through the spectacular display of colorful explosions.

But for the time being, he was the child, spending the day with his brother, sister, and father, enjoying the fireworks.

"They're so pretty dad." Lelouch said, resting his arms on his father's head and resting his cheek on his arm.

He felt himself shake a little as Leon chuckled beneath him.

"Well I'm glad you're enjoying them." he said.

Lelouch looked over at Mercy who seemed Content on Lloyd's shoulders, her chin resting on his head as they smiled and laughed together.

Even Suzaku had a comfortable spot on Braydon's shoulders.

Lelouch looked around to see all of the younger children sitting on someone's shoulders. Even Gino had little Max on his shoulders and Roderick had Tara. After a moment though Lelouch just smiled and went back to watching the fireworks.

The colorful bursts covered the sky magnificently above the capitol building and the Washington Monument.

Lelouch just felt content as he watched the fireworks, and amongst the cheers as the fireworks ended, he quietly drifted off to sleep against his father's head as he smiled contently feeling lucky to be where he was.

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Ginger: Okay, sorry for the crappy short chapter. And sorry it took me so long. I've been working like crazy and I haven't had much time to write. But the next chapter will be much, much better I promise! THanks for sticking with me everyone!


	17. Suzaku's wonderful birthday present

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything that has to do with Code Geass. So what else is new?

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The rest of the trip had gone by extremely fast, and everyone was sad when it was time to go back home to California, but at the same time, they all looked forward to going home and sleeping in their own beds.

Lelouch was happy being back with Aldair and his cuttlefish.

Suzaku was relieved to have Nanuq back in his arms at night with Jurri by his side as they starred up at the spinning Lancelots together.

"Suzaku! Suzaku, it's time to get up!" came Cecile's kind voice, breaking the now seven year old out of his peaceful sleep. "Come on Suzaku."

"Do I have to mom?" he yawned.

"Yes, we've got lots of things to do today."

"Like what?" he asked cautiously, noticing the brilliant smile on her face.

"Whatever you want to do today."

"Sleep?"

"Other than sleep." she said with a smile as she rolled her eyes a little at him.

"Then why'd you say we can do anything I want?"

"Because today's a special day Suzaku."

"It's Friday mom, when you're out of school every Friday seems like all the other days. I don't see what's so special about it."

"Suzaku, It's July tenth."

"So?" he shrugged, stretching.

"Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday Suzaku."

Suzaku starred for a moment. "It's my birthday?"

"Yes silly!"

"How'd you even know?" he yawned.

"Suzaku, I had access to all of your files when you were a knight, or did you forget that?"

"Oh, I guess I did." he admitted, sitting up and rubbing sleep out of his eyes.

"So what do you want to do today birthday boy?" she asked.

Suzaku sat and thought for a moment.

"Can we go have lunch by the water? Just you and me mom?" he asked.

"Of course we can Suzaku. But you have to get up and get dressed first silly." she said, touching noses with him and making him giggle.

"Okay, I'm getting up." he said, hopping out of bed.

After about an hour the two were sitting at a picnic table, sharing lunch and watching the boats sail past.

"I still can't believe I forgot my birthday." Suzaku sighed.

"I can't either."

"But then again, it might have something to do with the fact that I keep growing a year every two weeks." he pointed out

"I guess that's a good excuse." Cecile shrugged. "But I swear you forgot it last year too."

"So I haven't cared about my birthday much in the last couple years, is that a bad thing?" he asked, munching on a french fry.

"I guess I've done the same." Cecile admitted with a sigh.

"So see? I'm not alone. You forgot yours too."

"Well I didn't forget it, I just didn't celebrate it."

"So I forgot a couple times, can you blame me? When is your birthday anyway?" he asked looking at Cecile with curiosity.

"October 3rd." she said proudly.

"October 3rd huh? I'll have to remember." he said thoughtfully.

Cecile just chuckled and shook her head a little. "Remember your own birthday first Suzaku." she chided gently. "Children come first, mother's come second."

"But then why do we have mother's day and not kid's day?" he asked with a smile, trying to punch a hole in her logic.

"Just eat your lunch Suzaku." she said with a smile. "I go by what my father taught me."

"How come you never had a kid before me Miss Cecile?" he wondered.

"Suzaku, I've never even had a boyfriend before." she said, looking at him as if it was obvious.

"Why?" he asked slowly.

"Because I'm very busy and I'm apparently a terrible cook." she said, obviously trying to joke about it.

Suzaku just sighed and shook his head.

"Anyway, today's your birthday, we're not here to talk about my relationship skills."

"I know." Suzaku sighed.

Cecile giggled a little as Suzaku just went back to eating.

But he was surprised when she set a small wrapped box on the table and pushed towards him.

"What's this?" he asked curiously.

"It's called a birthday present Suzaku." said Cecile with a smile. "When was the last time you had one?"

"I don't remember anymore." he admitted, looking at the box.

"Well go ahead and open it Suzaku." she said kindly.

Suzaku took the box and looked at it in curiosity before carefully tearing the paper at the ends where it was taped.

"I can tell you'll be the last one to finish unwrapping your presents this Christmas." Cecile said with a chuckle.

"It's not something living right?" he asked cautiously.

"Of course not silly. If it was, it would be a box with holes in it and the package would be moving."

"I guess you've got a point." he said, slowly pulling the box out of the open end of wrapping paper.

"Just go ahead and open it Suzaku." she said shaking her head with a smile. "Today preferably."

Suzaku just sighed and opened up the box to find something very unexpected in it. "It's a book." he muttered, pulling out a monstrous leather bound book.

"It's a photo album Suzaku." Cecile sighed a little.

"Ohhh." he said, opening the album. He smiled when he saw the first picture. It was a large picture of him and all of his friends at Ashford academy. As he continued to flip through the pages he found more pictures of the happy times in his former life. He even found a picture of him with Lelouch and Nunnally when they were children at the Kururugi shrine. "Where did you get some of these pictures mom?" he asked curiously.

"I asked Lelouch and the others to help me." she explained. "Do you like it?"

"I love it mom, thanks a lot." he said in appreciation. He even found a picture of him and Euphie with his knight's emblem pinned to the page above it.

"Here, I saved this and I thought you might like to put it with your pictures." she said, holding out a small jewelry type box.

Suzaku took it and opened the lid, curious as to what was in the little package. "Ohhh! Lancelot's key! You saved Lancelot's key!" he said in awe as he held it up by the lanyard it had been attached to.

"I found it in the wreckage. I originally kept it as a keepsake because I thought I had lost you, but when dad showed me otherwise, I figured you'd like to have it." she told him.

Suzaku hopped out of his seat and went around the table to jump into Cecile's arms. "Thanks mom." he said hugging her tightly, a smile on his face. "This is the best birthday ever."

"You're very welcome Suzaku, and I'm glad you're happy." said Cecile kissing his nose. "Now come on, we were going to take a harbor cruise remember? We don't want to be late."

"Okay." he said, grabbing his book and putting Lancelot's key around his neck as Cecile cleaned off the table. He then took Cecile's hand and they walked off, Suzaku feeling happier than ever, ready to enjoy what the rest of the day would bring.

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Ginger: Sorry it took me forever to actually update guys! I've been super busy while dealing with a case of writer's block. But I'll be honest, I'm only going to add one more chapter to this story, then I start another one to follow in it's place so the story really isn't going to end and the next one will be much better! Fewer crappy fillers with plenty of action in the middle! Anyway, once again sorry, I hope you guys still like it!


	18. All done growing But what's up with dad?

Disclaimer: I don't own Lelouch and Suzaku......... whatever.

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"So what now?" Lelouch asked, as he and Suzaku sat on the edge of the Berkenbridge yard while they watched the sun set over the ocean.

"What do you mean, 'what now'?" Suzaku asked curiously.

It had been a long five months, it was now October and Suzaku and Lelouch were finished growing at the age of thirteen.

"What do we do now that we've finished growing?"

"I don't know." Suzaku shrugged.

"I know dad wants me to go to public school." Lelouch admitted.

"Isn't he leaving soon?" Suzaku asked curiously.

"Dad leaves on February 13th."

"Where are you going to stay?"

"Here with Grandpa Ashtor. Now that he's alive again, he said he'll take me to school and stuff. So we don't have to leave."

"That's a good thing." Suzaku admitted with a smile.

"Yeah, I don't think I want to leave home." Lelouch admitted, falling backwards and laying on his back as he starred up at the sky.

"You'll be taking care of Kit and Mercy." Suzaku pointed out.

"And I took care of Nunnally for how many years?" he shrugged with a smile. "I don't mind. They're my brother and sister. They make me feel….. Normal."

"I didn't know you could feel normal in this family." Suzaku said with a smile.

"This is true. But think about it, compared to how are lives used to be, isn't this place so much better?"

"Yeah it is." Suzaku admitted with a nod. "And here, we're not enemies, we're just….. Friends. As it should be."

"As it should be." Lelouch agreed.

"So, what school are you going to go to?"

"Dad wants me to go to Coronado high so I can go to the after school program on base. Kit and Mercy go to the elementary school just down the road from there."

"Well if you go there, we can go to school together. Mom and I live on Coronado now, remember?"

"This is true." Lelouch agreed with a nod.

"Lelouch! Suzaku! It's time to come in for dinner!" came Leon's voice from the porch.

"Yes sir!" they both called back.

Leon walked into the house as Lelouch sat up.

"Dad's been acting rather strange lately." Lelouch muttered.

"Strange? Strange how?" Suzaku asked in curiosity.

"Like….. A few days ago, I heard him talking to someone in his office, but no one was there. Not even on the phone or anything and his computer was off."

"What was he talking to himself about? I mean…… you talk to yourself." Suzaku pointed out.

"Yeah but……. He didn't sound like himself, and he was saying something about not being able to regain his memories from before or something, and he said something about someone as his knight and wishing he could set them free. It was kinda creepy." he admitted.

Suzaku starred. "That really doesn't sound like Uncle Leon." he admitted.

"I know, that's why it was so strange. And every once in a while I'll find black feathers like Mr. Malachai's."

"Well how do you know that they're not Mr. Malachai's?"

"Because Mr. Malachai hasn't been over in the last month."

"Maybe there's more to Uncle Leon then people realize."

"You think? I mean….. I still love him, he's my dad, but……. I can't help but wonder what's going on with him. Every now and then, he won't come home and I'll get a call from Captain Holloway saying he disappeared after someone angered him enough that he showed a completely psychotic temper, and while yes dad can have a temper, he's never done something like this before. It's just started in the last month."

"I don't know. Maybe we should keep an eye on him for a while." Suzaku said standing up and brushing the grass off the back of his pants. "But for now, let's get inside for dinner."

"Good idea." said Lelouch as Suzaku helped him stand up.

So the two headed inside just in time to wash up before dinner was set on the table.

.

But after dinner, Leon seemed to disappear as Kit and Mercy went to play with Mitch in the playroom before bed while Lelouch and Suzaku sat in Lelouch's bedroom with Aldair and Jurri.

"You're right, Uncle Leon does seem to be acting a little odd." Suzaku admitted from his spot on the pull out bed as he scratched behind Jurri's ears.

"I told you." Lelouch sighed. "He's probably up in his office. But he seems distant, doesn't he?"

"This is true." Suzaku agreed with a nod.

"Maybe the two of you should go check on him." Aldair suggested.

"Is that a wise idea?" Lelouch asked.

"Well you won't know unless you try." Aldair sighed. "Even your grandfather has noticed something with Leon."

"Which one?" Suzaku asked.

"Both." Aldair said. "But the one that seems to be noticing the most is Malachai. I don't know why, but I get the feeling he may know what's wrong,"

"So should we just ask him?" Lelouch suggested.

"Why don't you see what your father's up to first child." Aldair said.

"Fine, but only if you come with me Suzaku."

"Sure." Suzaku shrugged, standing up.

So the two of them quietly headed up the stairs and cracked open the door just to be amazed at what they saw.

Standing in the room was Leon, facing his shadow, but the shadow didn't look like him. Instead, it was a slender, almost female like figure, with one feathered wing and one bat-like wing, and it appeared to move on it's own.

"No matter what I try I can't remember anything!" Leon growled at the shadow.

It was then that a faint whisper reached their ears.

"You must remember something Sire." the feminine voice said softly.

"I've tried! I can't remember a damn thing! Do you think I like knowing that twenty years worth of memories are missing from my mind?!" he snarled, pacing back and forth, but the shadow remained on the wall.

Lelouch and Suzaku looked at each other in curiosity and fear before they turned back to what was in the room before them.

"You must remember something Master Hadrian."

"Why must you call me that?" Leon snapped.

"Because that is you name sire. Lucilius Hadrian ."

"Light Dark. What a name." he snorted in disbelief. "Some days I wonder if you're right about this stuff Sarafi."

"You are my King and I am your knight. I always have been."

"But I can't remember the twenty damn years you're talking about!"

"That is because the High Council locked away your memories and banished you to be born a mortal. They are afraid of you sire. They are afraid because the Creator loved one of king Lucifer's creations. Because the Creator was going to let you be an arch angel. That is why they want to keep your memories away from you."

"But I can't figure out how to open the lock! I can't set you free, I can't retrieve my memories, I've tried everything! I've even tried hypnotism and it didn't do a damn thing."

"Well until you set me free, I can not protect you, and you are no longer immortal. Why don't you ask that son of yours."

Lelouch tensed suddenly wondering if the shadow was talking about him.

Leon gave the shadow a sharp look. "What do you mean by that?" he asked darkly.

"Your son Lelouch. He has the power to unlock those memories, to bring back your power. He has the power of the king."

"Malachai said he lost that power when he was saved." Leon said sternly.

"He never lost it sire. It's still there. He just has to have a reason to bring it back to the surface."

"I will not get Lelouch involved in any of this, do I make myself clear Sarafi?" he snapped

"Yes Master."

"I just want my memories back, I don't care about any power I used to have. I just want to know who I am and why." Leon said softly. "It's late Sarafi and I'm tired."

"Sire?"

"I'm going to bed. Not another word of this nonsense."

"Yes, your majesty." said the shadow bowing. Then, it disappeared.

Lelouch quickly pulled the door shut, trying his best not to make a sound, then the two of them rushed back downstairs and into Lelouch's bedroom.

"See! I told you weird things were happening with dad!" Lelouch muttered, jumping onto his bed.

"Well, what took the two of you so long?" Aldair asked in curiosity.

"A lot more then we really needed to know." Suzaku admitted as he sat on his bed. "Did you really loose your Geass?"

"I thought I did." Lelouch admitted with a shrug. "I've tried to bring it out, but it hasn't worked. But I didn't really care much because I figured I'd never need it here."

"What are the two of you talking about?" Aldair asked.

"It's a long story." Lelouch sighed. "For now, I think I'm ready for bed."

"Agreed." Suzaku said with a nod.

So the two of them changed and went to bed.

But Lelouch couldn't stop thinking about what had been said, about what his father had been talking about, and how it involved him in any way. Before long though, he drifted off to sleep, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, and wondering what the next day of his life would bring.

.

.

.

Ginger: okay, another strange ending I know. But this will all come into play in the next story trust me! It'll be much more exciting with a lot more crazy stuff going on. Once again, sorry it took me so long to finish this story, and sorry to end it so suddenly and on such a strange note, but there will be good reason! I promise! SO please read the sequel called 'A family adventure in life and war' I hope you all enjoy it!


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